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NORTH  CAROLINA  STATE  HIGHWAY  COMMISSION 


BULLETIN  No.  1 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES  OF 

GOOD  ROADS 


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RALEIGH,  N.  0. 

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NORTH  CAROLINA  STATE  HIGHWAY  COMMISSION 


BULLETIN  No.  1 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES  OF 

GOOD  ROADS 


HIGHWAY  COMMISSION 


Governor  Locke  Craig,  Chairman. 
Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  Secretary. 
Bennehan  Cameron. 

E.  C.  Duncan. 

T.  E.  IIickerson. 

W.  C.  Riddick. 

Guy  V.  Roberts. 


W.  S.  Faults,  State  Highway  Engineer. 


i*j  /  4  d  & 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The  Relation  of  Public  Roads  to  Farm  Economics .  5 

Good  Roads  and  Rural  Mail  Delivery .  9 

The  Relationship  of  Colleges  and  Universities  to  the  Good  Roads  Move¬ 
ment  .  17 

Public  Roads  and  Public  Schools .  20 

Benefits  of  Roads  to  Non-Abutting  Property  Owners .  22 

Economics  of  Good  Roads  .  23 

Effects  of  Good  Roads  on  Immigration .  24 

Why  Do  We  Want  Good  Roads? .  28 

The  High  Cost  of  Hauling .  34 

Economic  Problems  in  Road  Building .  33 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


https://archive.org/details/benefitsadvantag02unse 


Benefits  and  Advantages  of  Good  Roads 


THE  RELATION  OF  PUBLIC  ROADS  TO  FARM  ECONOMICS 


By  Hon.  Logan  Waller  Page,  Director  U.  S.  Office  of  Public  Roads. 


From  the  standpoint  of  a  highway  engineer,  the  term  “farm  economics” 
must  necessarily  describe  a  group  of  phenomena  which  are  somewhat  different 
from  those  with  which  the  agriculturist  deals. 

It  is  extremely  gratifying,  however,  to  find  that  recent  developments  of  re¬ 
search  work  in  the  domain  of  farm  economics  are  along  lines  which  are  ex¬ 
ceedingly  valuable  to  the  men  who  study  the  economics  of  highways.  We 
refer  especially  to  such  investigations  as  are  represented  by  Bulletin  No.  295 
of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  Cornell  University,  Circular  No.  75 
of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  the  farm  management  investiga¬ 
tions  in  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  which  have  resulted  in  farm  surveys 
in  ten  counties  during  the  past  three  years. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  data  which  is  obtained  from  the  work  along 
these  lines  is  directly  useful  for  the  study  of  highway  problems.  For  the 
highway  problem  at  present  is  to  a  large  degree  a  problem  of  economics.  The 
period  of  agitation  and  education  for  better  highways  is  about  completed. 
Although  there  still  remain  perplexing  questions  in  highway  technique  on 
details  of  construction,  there  exists  a  great  body  of  information  and  experi¬ 
ence  along  these  lines. 

The  question  of  financing  improved  roads,  the  desirability  of  which  is  uni¬ 
versally  admitted,  and  the  cost  of  which  is  largely  determined,  has  not  as  yet 
received  sufficient  attention.  It  is  not  possible,  for  example,  today,  to  satis¬ 
factorily  determine  how  much  a  county  or  township  or  a  state  ought  to  spend 
for  road  improvement  and  maintenance.  How  are  we  going  to  answer  such 
questions? 

What  we  need  more  than  any  one  thing  is  a  sufficient  local  traffic  census; 
not  merely  a  numerical  traffic  census,  but  a  census  which  determines  accu¬ 
rately  the  number  of  tons  moving  over  the  roads  and  the  number  of  miles  of 
road  in  any  district  which  do  most  of  the  work.  The  fundamental  unit  in 
such  work  is  the  ton  mile.  This  represents  the  movement  of  one  useful  ton  a 
distance  of  one  mile. 

There  are  two  ways  of  determining  the  ton  mile  traffic  upon  our  highways. 
The  first  or  most  obvious  way  is  to  station  observers  upon  the  road  system 
who  will  note  the  passing  travel  and  make  proper  inquiries  as  to  the  loads 
and  distances.  Men  who  are  trained  to  ask  the  right  questions  and  who  know 
how  to  apply  the  proper  checks  can  obtain  surprisingly  accurate  results  in  this 
way.  The  accuracy  of  such  methods  has  been  strikingly  shown  by  a  traffic 
census  on  the  radial  reads  leading  from  Milan,  Italy,  in  the  year  1909. 

It  is  possible,  of  course,  to  determine  the  error  in  traffic  census  work  by  the 
usual  mathematical  theory,  and  to  select  the  desirable  number  of  observations 
in  accordance  with  that  theory. 


6 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


The  second  method  of  handling  the  problems  of  ton  mile  traffic  is  by  the 
highway  traffic  survey,  if  we  might  coin  such  an  expression.  Such  a  survey  is 
similar  to  the  railroad  traffic  survey,  which  is  frequently  used  in  determining 
the  desirability  of  new  mileage  for  railroad  systems. 

The  type  of  farm  survey  which  has  been  developed  within  the  last  few  years 
is  almost  sufficient  for  a  complete  highway  traffic  survey,  and  its  deficiencies 
can  probably  be  supplied  with  very  little  additional  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
observer. 

It  will  be  necessary,  for  example,  to  have  some  definite  method  of  determin¬ 
ing  the  distribution  of  radial  market  roads  from  the  market  centers.  At  the 
present  time,  in  all  cases  which  we  have  examined,  it  is  necessary  to  assume 
the  number  of  main  market  roads  which  radiate  from  market  centers,  and  we 
are  now  using  six  as  the  proper  number. 

To  show  the  intimate  relation  which  the  farm  surveys  bear  to  the  highway 
traffic  surveys,  it  is  interesting  to  examine  the  results  obtained  by  the  Cornell 
Experiment  Station  from  the  survey  of  farms  in  Tompkins  County,  New 
York,  in  the  year  1908.  The  result  of  this  investigation,  as  before  mentioned, 
is  published  in  Bulletin  No.  295. 

Tompkins  County,  in  which  Cornell  University  is  situated,  is  in  the  center 
of  the  State  of  New  York  and  fairly  representative  of  a  large  area  of  New 
York  farming  country.  The  investigation  in  question  was  carried  out  by 
methods  which  had  been  developed  by  several  previous  years  of  work.  Most 
of  the  results  are  based  upon  figures  from  647  farms  in  the  four  townships  of 
Ithaca,  Lansing,  Danby  and  Dryden;  the  area  of  these  four  townships  is  about 
260  square  miles,  while  the  area  of  the  whole  county  is  about  422  square  miles. 
It  is,  of  course,  necessary  in  determining  county-wide  figures  to  exterpolate 
from  these  four  townships  to  the  remainder  of  the  county. 

It  is  possible  to  derive  from  the  data  of  Bulletin  No.  295  conclusions  in  re¬ 
gard  to  highways  which  should  be  as  reliable  in  general  as  are  the  conclusions 
in  regard  to  agricultural  facts,  which  are  represented  in  the  tables.  For  ex¬ 
ample,  we  find  that  the  average  weight  of  farm  produce  which  is  sold  and 
transported  from  the  farm  is  little  more  than  one-half  ton  per  acre  of  land 
which  is  under  cultivation.  This  is  a  fundamental  fact  on  which  all  our 
calculations  must  be  based. 

Next  in  importance  comes  the  average  haul  to  market;  the  work  done  in  this 
county  fortunately  determined  for  948  farms  the  average  distance  from  mar¬ 
ket,  and  not  only  this,  but  also  showed  the  number  of  farms  situated  at  the 
varying  distances  from  market.  Apparently  the  average  distances  from  mar¬ 
ket  was  determined  -from  the  list  of  farms  obtained  and  not  by  grouping 
farmers  or  individual  roads.  The  average  distance  is  given  as  3.16  miles  and 
is  very  low.  The  average  for  the  United  States  is  given  in  Bulletin  No.  49 
of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  as  hay  8.3;  oats  7.3;  buckwheat  8.2;  wheat  9.5; 
and  potatoes  8.2. 

The  distribution  of  these  farms  is  shown  in  Table  No.  1.  If  this  distribu¬ 
tion  is  representative  of  the  actual  distribution  of  farms  along  the  radial 
roads  in  these  townships,  it  is  so  unexpected  as  to  be  extremely  interesting. 
The  table  shows,  for  example,  that  the  142  farms  are  less  than  a  mile;  124 
about  four  miles,  and  26  about  seven  miles  from  market;  whereas,  the  num¬ 
ber  should  increase  with  the  square  of  the  distance,  if  the  farms  were  of  the 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


7 


same  size.  Ithaca,  with  15,000  population,  is  the  largest  market  center  and 
is  reached  by  about  six  main  roads  of  an  average  length  of  10  miles. 

The  question  of  determining  the  average  distance  from  market  of  farms  in 
a  given  area  is  a  very  interesting  one. 

Certain  assumptions  must  necessarily  be  made.  Mr.  Frank  Andrews,  in 
Bulletin  49,  Bureau  of  Statistics,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  determines 
the  average  distance  from  the  maximum  distance.  He  says:  “Assuming  the 
longest  distance  of  any  considerable  number  of  farmers  from  a  certain  ship¬ 
ping  point  to  be  12  miles,  the  area  of  the  circle  including  the  farmers  using 
that  shipping  point  would  be  452  square  miles.  One-half  of  this  area,  or  226 
square  miles,  is  included  within  a  circumference  drawn  with  a  radius  of  8.5 
miles  from  the  shipping  point.  Hence,  one-half  of  the  farmers  may  be  as¬ 
sumed  to  haul  from  points  distant  less  than  8.5  miles  from  the  shipping  point, 
and  the  other  half  to  haul  farther  than  8.5  miles.  This  distance  is,  therefore, 
taken  as  the  average  haul  by  all  farmer^  using  that  shipping  point.” 

This  assumption  does  not  involve  the  knowledge  of  how  many  roads  radiate 
from  the  market  point.  The  average  distance  from  the  farm  to  the  shipping 
point,  as  determined  by  Mr.  Andrews,  does  not,  however,  coincide  with  the 
distance  which  may  be  computed  by  assuming  a  definte  number  of  radial 
roads  from  the  shipping  point  with  an  equal  maximum  haul  along  each  road. 
The  average  haul  for  that  market  will  depend  upon  the  number  of  roads  we 
assume;  but  in  no  case  will  it  be  as  great  as  the  average  haul  used  in  Bulletin 
No.  49. 

Mr.  Andrews  finds  that  the  average  haul  “h”  is  given  by  the  equation: 

FT 

h=  0  where  H=average  maximum  haul 

If  we  assume  the  number  of  radial  roads  to  be  six,  the  average  haul  is  de¬ 
termined  by  the  equation: 

h'=2H' 

For  example,  if  the  average  maximum  haul  is  taken  as  12  miles,  the  average 
haul  with  six  radial  roads  would  be  but  7.64  miles.  The  method  that  we  use 
really  determined  the  average  length  of  haul  as  the  distance  from  the  market 
center  to  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  section  of  the  country  served  by  the 
individual  road. 

With  the  average  haul  of  3.16  miles  deduced  from  the  study  in  Tompkins 
County,  the  maximum  haul  would  be  thus  almost  five  (5)  miles.  The  total 
area  surrounding  each  market  would  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  12 y2  square 
miles. 

When  we  determine  the  acreage  production  which  is  sold  and  hauled  from 
the  farms  within  this  area,  we  can,  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy,  measure 
the  service  of  the  six  five-mile  radial  roads  leading  to  the  shipping  point. 

In  the  four  townships  from  which  returns  are  recorded,  the  census  of  1910 
shows  that  98.6  per  cent,  or  232.7  square  miles,  are  in  farms.  The  Cornell 
investigation  shows  that  70  per  cent  of  the  total  farm  area  was  in  crops,  so 
that  in  the  four  townships  in  question  there  were  about  104,262  acres  of  crops. 
The  returns  from  647  farms  show  that  the  average  produce,  including  milk 
sold  from  each  cultivated  acre  was  .5157  ton,  so  that,  if  this  figure  is  applied 
to  the  entire  producing  area  of  the  four  townships,  we  find  that  53,768  tons  of 
farm  produce  were  marketed  over  the  roads. 

In  order  to  determine  the  service  of  the  market  roads  in  the  four  townships 
in  question,  we  divide  their  area  by  12%  and  we  find  there  should  be  21  five- 


8 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


mile  roads  grouped  about  3.5  market  centers.  The  aggregate  miles  of  market 
road,  then,  is  105  miles.  Similar  figures  may  be  deduced  for  the  entire  county 
and  are  shown  in  the  Table  II  of  the  bulletin  referred  to  above. 

There  are  various  methods  of  procedure  from  this  point  to  determine  the 
value  of  road  improvement.  We  have  computed  the  total  saving  to  the  four 
townships  and  to  the  entire  county  which  would  accrue  if  the  roads  were  so 
improved  that  first  the  cost  per  ton  per  mile  of  hauling  was  reduced  five 
cents  on  all  produce  except  market  milk;  second,  the  cost  of  hauling  market 
milk  was  reduced  50  per  cent  and  the  returns  or  price  received  for  market 
produce  increased  by  one  per  cent  of  the  recorded  receipts. 

To  assume  a  decrease  of  five  cents  per  ton  mile  for  hauling  on  an  improved 
road  is  a  conservative  figure.  The  Cornell  bulletin  states  that  the  cost  of 
hauling  milk  varies  from  four  to  seven  per  cent  of  its  value,  and  that  the 
hauling  can  be  hired  for  about  one-sixth  of  the  actual  cost  when  the  individual 
farmer  carries  milk  to  the  station.  To  assume  that  adequately  improved 
roads  would  cut  the  cost  of  marketing  milk  in  two  is  therefore  reasonable. 
The  value  of  opportunity  in  marketing  over  roads  which  are  serviceable  for 
an  increased  number  of  days  in  the  year  and  in  all  weather  is  certainly  worth 
one  per  cent.  The  total  saving  to  the  four  townships  would  be  $18,932,  and 
on  the  same  basis  to  the  county  $37,592.  The  total  expenditure  in  this  county 
for  road  purposes  for  all  sources  was  only  $45,958. 

The  saving  which  we  have  computed  is  at  the  rate  of  $180  per  mile  in  the 
four  townships,  or  $192  per  mile  in  the  entire  county.  Capitalized  at  five  per 
cent,  this  annual  saving  would  pay  for  improvement  costing  nearly  $3,600  per 
mile  in  the  four  townships,  or  $3,840  per  mile  in  the  county  on  these  roads 
which  apparently  perform  the  service  of  market  roads.  The  present  tax  levy 
on  this  mileage  could  thus  be  applied  wholly  to  maintenance.  It  is  interest¬ 
ing  to  note  that  the  computation  we  have  made  shows  that  the  market  roads 
are  only  18  per  cent  of  the  total  mileage  both  in  the  four  townships  and  in 
the  county. 

There  were,  in  1908,  24  miles  of  improved  roads  in  the  four  townships  and 
45  miles  in  the  whole  county;  but  no  account  has  been  taken  of  this  improved 
mileage  in  the  above  computation,  as  no  knowledge  of  its  distribution  was 
available. 

There  are  certain  striking  facts  noticed  by  the  author  of  the  Cornell  bulle¬ 
tin.  He  says  that  although  it  is  probably  true  that  the  best  farms  lie  in  the 
valleys  and  are  consequently  nearer  the  main  roads,  it  is  also  true  that  the 
value  of  farms  decrease  from  $40  per  acre  to  $19  per  acre  as  the  distance 
from  market  increases  to  8  miles,  and  that  this  decrease  is  not  warranted  by 
change  in  fertility.  It  is  also  remarked  that  even  with  the  low  average  labor 
income  of  $425  from  615  farms,  the  owner  who  lives  within  three  miles  of 
market  makes  about  four  times  as  much  as  is  made  by  those  who  are  about 
seven  miles  from  market;  and  furthermore,  it  is  concluded  in  this  bulletin 
that  the  farmer  can  afford  to  pay  five  per  cent  interest  on  more  valuable  land 
near  the  market  and  still  make  much  more  from  his  labor.  The  term  “more 
valuable  land”  here  does  not  mean  more  fertile  land,  but  land  more  valuable 
to  the  farm  as  a  business  plant,  because  of  its  nearness  to  the  shipping  point. 

It  is  quite  apparent,  therefore,  that  a  whole  new  series  of  computation  could 
be  undertaken  with  a  view  to  determining  the  relations  between  improved 
roads  which  bring  the  more  remote  districts  from  50  to  100  per  cent  nearer 
the  market  in  point  of  time  consumed  on  the  road.  In  the  matter  of  agri- 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


9 


cultural  credit,  of  which  much  is  now  published,  it  is  certainly  apparent  that 
the  borrowing  power  of  farms  situated  upon  improved  market  roads  will  be 
increased.  It  appears,  also,  that  more  remote  farms  need  capital  to  establish 
a  proper  balance  between  farm  acreage  and  equipment  and  to  operate  with 
greater  efficiency.  It  is  quite  common  to  find  that  the  more  remote  and  less 
prosperous  districts  pay  a  larger  rate  for  tax  purposes,  and  that  their  roads 
are  poor  and  often  run  over  outrageous  grades.  Such  districts  as  these  get 
increasing  returns  from  all  forms  of  state  or  county  aid. 

In  summing  up  the  most  important  needs  of  the  farmers,  the  Cornell  bulle¬ 
tin  remarks  that  nearly  all  the  good  farmers  raise  crops  for  sale.  Cows  are 
the  most  profitable  kind  of  live  stock  in  the  market.  The  average  cow  does 
not  pay.  No  dairyman  who  sells  nothing  but  wholesale  market  milk  is  mak¬ 
ing  a  large  profit,  and  the  obstacle  has  largely  been  in  the  sale  of  milk  in 
small  quantities.  The  farmers  do  not  receive  more  than  their  share  of  the 
prosperity,  and  in  the  past  they  received  less  than  their  share.  Only  one- 
third  of  the  farmers  make  more  than  that  made  by  the  hired  men. 

It  would,  therefore,  seem  that  in  this  county,  in  which  the  conditions  for 
agriculture  are  a  little  better  than  the  average  for  the  State  and  considerably 
better  than  the  average  for  the  country,  if  the  labor  income  averages  only 
$423  and  the  disadvantages  of  farm  life  pointed  out  above  are  in  any  way  due 
to  lack  of  improved  roads,  there  should  be  no  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the 
state,  county  or  towns  in  spending  more  money  to  improve  the  market  roads. 


GOOD  ROADS  AND  RURAL  MAIL  DELIVERY 


By  Dr.  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist. 


Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Rural  Mail  Carriers  Association . 

I  am  supposed  to  take  up  today  a  general  discussion  of  the  question  of  good 
roads;  but  I  wish,  however,  to  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  consider  a 
particular  phase  of  the  good  roads  question  especially  in  its  relation  to  mial 
delivery,  and,  if  you  wish  a  definite  title  to  my  address,  you  might  call  it 
“Good  Roads  and  Rural  Delivery.” 

This  subject  has  been  suggested  to  me  by  the  fact  that  I  was  to  address  an 
association  whose  membership  is  composed  of  rural  mail  carriers;  but  I  have 
also  been  influenced  in  the  selection  of  this  subject  by  the  fact  that  I  believed 
the  audience  would  not  only  be  composed  of  the  members  of  the  association, 
but  also  of  friends  of  the  association  from  the  rural  sections.  I  wish  to  speak 
to  the  carriers  and  also  to  the  patrons  along  the  rural  routes.  To  the  carriers, 
because  they  can  become  among  the  most  influential  advocates  of  good  roads 
and  can  exert  a  tremendous  influence  for  the  construction  of  good  roads  in 
the  counties  in  which  they  work;  to  their  friends  in  these  rural  sections, 
because  they  are  the  ones  who  are  vitally  interested  in  rural  delivery  and 
upon  whom  the  extension  of  rural  delivery,  for  the  most  part,  depends. 

In  the  first  place,  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  exten¬ 
sion  of  the  rural  free  delivery  system  of  this  country  is  absolutely  dependent 
upon  good  roads.  This  is  emphasized  by  statements  and  reports  that  have 


10 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


gone  out  from  the  Postmaster-General’s  office.  In  a  report  of  former  Post¬ 
master-General  Cortelyou,  he  said: 

“The  requirement  precedent  to  the  establishment  of  rural  delivery  is  to  be 
a  possible  patronage  of  100  families  on  a  standard  route  of  24  miles;  that  the 
road  be  kept  unobstructed  by  gates  and  with  all  streams  fordable  at  all  sea¬ 
sons  of  the  year.” 

Very  recently  a  bulletin  has  been  issued  to  postmasters  throughout  the 
country  which  reads  as  follows: 

“You  are  directed  to  inform  yourself  as  to  the  condition  of  roads  and  bridges 
on  the  rural  roads  out  of  your  office,  and  if  you  find  that  they  require  im¬ 
provements,  you  should  present  the  matter  in  the  strongest  and  most  positive 
way  to  the  patrons  and  the  road  officials,  informing  them  that  improvements 
must  be  made  as  soon  as  practicable.  If  after  a  reasonable  time  has  elapsed 
the  improvements  have  not  been  made  or  started,  you  will  report  the  fact  to 
this  office,  in  order  that  action  may  be  taken  looking  to  the  discontinuance  of 
the  service. 

“The  department  is  not  immediately  concerned  in  elaborate  road  improve¬ 
ments,  but  in  the  interest  of  the  best  service  to  the  largest  number  of  patrons, 
it  must  be  insisted  upon  roads  being  kept  in  repair,  the  lack  of  which  is 
usually  due  to  improper  drainage  and  unsuitable  drainage  and  survey  work, 
which  can  be  easily  and  cheaply  accomplished  by  timely  work  and  the  regular 
use  of  the  ‘split-log  drag’  or  other  similar  device.” 

These  two  quotations  are  pretty  strong  evidence  that  good  roads  play  a 
very  strong  part  in  the  extension  of  rural  free  delivery,  and  if  it  comes  to  a 
question  of  parcel  post,  it  will  play  even  a  more  important  part  in  rural 
delivery. 

It  is  doubtful  if  at  the  present  time  any  of  our  people  living  in  the  rural 
sections  would  raise  any  serious  objection  to  the  extension  of  the  rural  free 
delivery,  nor  are  there  many  of  them  who  would  willingly  see  the  rural  free 
delivery  discontinued;  yet,  at  the  beginning  of  the  rural  free  delivery  system 
in  this  country,  there  was  not  only  considerable  objection  on  the  part  of 
Congress  to  establishing  these  routes,  on  account  of  the  enormous  expense  to 
the  government  of  maintaining  them,  but  there  was  much  opposition  on  the 
part  of  the  people  themselves.  It  may  be  interesting  to  give  here  some  idea 
of  the  growth  of  the  rural  free  delivery  system  during  the  thirteen  years  of 
its  existence: 


Fiscal  Year. 

Routes. 

Appropri¬ 

ations. 

Expendu 

tures. 

Increase 
in  Exp's. 

1897 . 

83 

$40,000 

50,250 

$40,000 

50,241 

$ . 

1898 . 

153 

35,401 

1899 . 

412 

150,032 

150,012 

99,771 

1900 . ' 

1,259 

450,000 

420,433 

270,421 

1901 . 

3,761 

1,750,796 

1,750,321 

1,329,888 

1902 . •. ... 

8,298 

4,089,075 

4,089,041 

2,338,720 

1903 . 

15,119 

8,580,364 

8,051,599 

3,962,558 

1904 . 

24,566 

12,926,905 

12,645,275 

4,593,676 

1905 . 

32,055 

21,116,600 

20,864,885 

8,219,610 

1906 . 

35,766 

25,828,309 

25,011,625 

4,146,740 

1907 . 

37,728 

28,200,000 

26,661,555 

1,649,930 

1908 . 

39,277 

34,900,000 

34,371,939 

7,710,384 

1909 . 

40,028 

35,673,000 

35,631,034 

1,289,095 

1910  (June) .... 

41,089 

37,260,000 

OF  GOOD  ROADS 


11 


In  the  thirteen  years  the  number  of  routes  have  been  increased  from  83  in 
1897,  the  year  that  the  service  was  started,  to  41,089  routes  at  the  end  of  May, 
1910.  Congress  has  increased  its  appropriation  from  $40,000  in  1897,  when  the 
experiment  was  first  started,  to  $37,260,000  in  1910.  This  shows  that  the  de¬ 
mand  for  rural  free  delivery  service  is  constantly  increasing,  and  that  it  is 
not  only  popular  with  the  people,  but  that  it  is  becoming  now  an  absolute 
necessity,  just  as  much  as  the  telephone  or  the  telegraph.  We  would  not  want 
to  even  think  of  abolishing  the  rural  free  delivery  service,  for  many  of  us  feel 
that  we  could  not  get  along  without  it;  and  yet  there  are  probably  a  thousand 
or  more  routes  threatened  with  discontinuance  if  the  public  roads  over  which 
the  carriers  have  to  travel  are  not  put  in  better  condition.  As  we  do  not  wish 
to  see  the  service  discontinued,  we  should  do  our  part  toward  making  it  more 
efficient,  and  here  again  its  efficiency  is  largely  dependent  upon  the  condition 
of  the  public  roads.  We  should  not,  however,  be  satisfied  with  keeping  the 
public  road  in  just  good  enough  condition  so  that  our  rural  free  delivery  will 
not  be  discontinued,  but  we  should  improve  the  roads  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  will  be  possible  for  the  carrier  to  make  the  fastest  time  possible  and  at  the 
minimum  expense  for  teams  and  at  the  minimum  cost  of  wear  and  tear  on 
stock  and  equipment. 

Right  here  let  me  say  a  few  words  to  the  patrons  of  the  rural  routes  on 
behalf  of  the  carriers.  As  you  know,  the  carriers  have  to  sign  a  contract  for 
the  route,  for  which  they  receive  a  definite  amount  per  year,  out  of  which  they 
have  to  pay  for  their  teams;  the  carrier  also  has  to  pass  an  examination,  show¬ 
ing  himself  qualified  for  the  service  in  which  he  desires  to  take  part.  I  have 
obtained  some  figures  from  Rural  Free  Delivery ,  a  newspaper  published  in 
the  interest  of  the  rural  carriers,  which  will  give,  I  believe,  a  fairly  accurate 
statement  regarding  expenses  and  net  income  of  carriers.  It  is  a  statement 
for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1909.  The  items  of  expense  given  in 
this  statement  are  as  follows: 

Corn . $ 

Oats . 

Hay  . 

Blacksmithing  . 

Depreciation  of  vehicles . 

Depreciation  of  harness,  etc . 

Depreciation  of  horses . 

Paid  for  tools,  blankets,  etc . 

Interest  on  $390.00,  investment  in  horses,  vehicles,  etc... 

Taxes  on  horses,  outfit,  etc . 


This  makes  a  total  expense  for  the  six  months  of . $  258.70 

Salary  for  the  six  months .  432.00 


Making  a  net  earning  for  six  months  of . $  173.30 

or  $28.88  per  month. 


Now,  without  any  comments  as  to  whether  or  not  rural  carriers  are  paid  in 
proportion,  to  what  they  do,  I  wish  to  state  how  we  are  responsible  for  at  least 
part  of  their  heavy  expense  and  small  net  income.  Taking  the  items  black- 
smithing  $25,  depreciation  of  vehicles  $40,  depreciation  of  harness,  etc.,  $11, 
depreciation  of  horses  $50,  making  a  total  of  $126,  these  large  items  of  expense 


60.00 

24.00 

30.00 

25.00 

40.00 

11.00 

50.00 

4.00 

11.70 

3.00 


12 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


are  due  largely  to  the  poor  condition  of  our  public  roads,  and  we  could  readily 
save  our  carriers  at  least  one-half  of  this  amount  if  we  would  do  our  part  in 
keeping  up  the  public  roads  in  the  condition  in  which  they  should  be.  This 
would  mean  an  increase  of  $10  per  month  on  the  net  income  of  the  carrier. 
Don’t  you  think  he  would  appreciate  this? 

The  postoffice  department,  in  determining  the  pay  of  the  letter  carriers,  does 
not  give  very  much  consideration  to  the  condition  of  the  roads  over  which  the 
carrier  has  to  travel,  as  they  have  a  ruling  that  the  roads  must  be  passable  at 
all  times  of  the  year.  Now,  the  better  the  condition  of  the  road,  the  less  ex¬ 
pense  in  wear  and  tear  on  the  stock  and  equipment  of  the  carrier.  If  you  will 
examine  the  statistics  of  the  average  net  income  of  the  carriers  in  the  differ¬ 
ent  states,  you  will  find  that  in  the  eastern  United  States  those  states  that 
have  the  best  roads  the  carriers  average  the  largest  net  income  per  month 
for  the  service  rendered. 

The  carriers  are  splendid  men,  selected  by  examination,  who  are  required 
to  give  a  bond  for  the  faithful  and  just  performance  of  their  duties,  and  they 
certainly  should  be  paid  salaries  that  come  somewhere  near  being  commensu¬ 
rate  with  their  services. 

Now,  what  can  we  do  to  improve  the  condition  of  our  public  roads?  In  the 
first  place,  we  cannot  make  all  our  roads  macadam  roads  for  many  years  to 
come.  For  when  we  stop  to  consider  that  North  Carolina  has  approximately 
47,000  miles  of  public  roads  in  the  State,  of  which  only  2,075  miles  are  sur¬ 
faced  roads,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  dirt  road  will  be  our  principal  road  for 
many  years  to  come,  and  it  is  over  this  type  of  road  that  a  good  many  of  the 
rural  routes  extend.  These  dirt  roads,  however,  can,  with  a  very  little  ex¬ 
pense,  be  kept  up  in  very  good  condition;  but  the  trouble  has  been  that  we 
have  not  given  enough  thought  to  this  work.  The  repairing  of  our  dirt  roads 
is  usually  done  only  once  or  twice  a  year,  and  very  often  it  is  put  off  till  fall, 
so  that  just  about  the  time  the  road  has  been  repaired  (?)  by  throwing  the 
trash  and  dirt  from  the  gutters  into  the  middle  of  the  road  and  filling  up  holes 
with  rock  and  brush,  heavy  rains  come  along  and  wash  most  of  it  out  again 
very  quickly,  and  it  never  gets  packed  down  before  the  winter  freezes  come 
on.  Thus,  instead  of  bettering  the  road,  we  have  made  it  a  great  deal  worse. 
When  properly  constructed,  the  dirt  road  can  be  kept  in  good  condition 
throughout  nearly  the  whole  year,  and  where  it  is  part  of  a  system  of  im¬ 
proved  roads  of  the  county,  that  is,  surfaced  with  macadam  or  sand-clay  or 
gravel,  the  travel  on  the  dirt  roads  is  so  much  less  than  on  the  main  thorough¬ 
fares  that  it  should  be  but  little  trouble  to  keep  it  in  first-class  condition,  pro¬ 
vided  it  has  been  put  in  first-class  condition  at  the  beginning,  both  as  regards 
location  and  drainage. 

At  the  present  time  we  have  very  few  earth  roads  but  what  can  be  improved, 
so  that  the  question  of  improvement  which  will  render  roads  more  efficient  is 
not  a  very  difficult  one  to  solve.  Just  as  careful  thought  should  be  given  to 
the  location  of  dirt  roads  as  is  given  to  the  hard-surfaced  roads,  for  in  reality 
the  location  of  a  road  is  its  only  permanent  part,  and  for  this  reason  great 
care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  the  road  is  located  in  the  right  place  regard¬ 
ing  grade,  drainage,  and  the  benefits  it  will  give  to  the  people  of  the  com¬ 
munity.  Many  of  the  dirt  roads  in  North  Carolina  over  which  our  carriers 
have  to  travel  are  at  certain  times  of  the  year  almost  impassable  on  account 
of  the  mud  and  steep  grades,  and  in  most  cases  these  obstacles  could  have 
been  a\  oided  if  the  road  had  been  located  properly,  and  can  now  be  avoided 


13 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 

by  relocating  the  road.  I  don't  doubt  but  that  many  of  you  have  wondered 
how  the  carriers  have  been  able  to  bring  your  mail  to  you  every  day,  when 
you  have  known  the  awful  condition  of  the  roads  over  which  they  have  had 
to  travel.  Think  of  a  road  in  such  condition  that  it  takes  you  five  hours  to  go 
fourteen  miles  with  a  strong  pair  of  horses  and  a  light  surrey.  What  does  the 
carrier  have  to  do  in  many  instances?  I  have  known  several  cases  where  the 
carrier  would  start  out  in  his  buggy,  go  a  certain  distance,  and  then  leave  his 
buggy,  saddle  his  horse,  and  go  horseback  for  part  of  his  route,  it  sometimes 
being  necessary  to  leave  the  public  road  entirely. 

It  is  such  conditions  that  the  government  has  finally  decided  must  be 
changed  or  the  routes  will  be  discontinued.  If  we  would  insist  that  our  town¬ 
ships  and  counties  would  employ  competent  road  engineers  to  plan  out  the 
work  that  is  to  be  done  on  our  public  roads,  we  could,  with  the  funds  avail¬ 
able,  put  the  greater  part  of  our  dirt  roads  in  first-class  condition;  and  then, 
by  organizing  and  dividing  up  the  road  into  sections,  each  section  under  the 
supervision  of  a  surveyor,  foreman,  director  (or  whatever  you  have  a  mind  to 
call  him),  whose  business  it  would  be  to  go  over  that  stretch  of  road  after 
every  heavy  rain  and  do  whatever  repairing  work  was  necessary,  we  would 
find  that  our  dirt  roads  would  be  kept  in  first-class  condition,  and  we  would 
never  be  willing  to  give  up  the  system  that  kept  them  in  such  good  condition. 

One  of  the  best  road  machines  for  such  road  work  is  the  “split-log  drag,” 
mentioned  in  one  of  the  Postmaster’s  circulars.  By  the  constant  and  wise 
use  of  this  drag  after  rains  a  dirt  road  can  be  dragged  into  shape  and  the 
surface  kept  hard.  In  the  middle  western  states  a  large  number  of  the  farm¬ 
ers  have  made  the  drags  and  are  using  them  themselves  on  the  roads  that  go 
by  and  through  their  farms.  In  Illinois  alone,  there  are  15,000  of  these  drags 
that  are  being  worked  on  the  different  roads.  In  Lycoming  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania,  there  are  300,  and  in  Lancaster  County  nearly  350. 

These  drags  do  efficient  work,  and  I  want  to  see  thousands  of  them  used  in 
North  Carolina.  Every  farmer  can  make  one,  at  a  cost  of  $2.50  to  $5.00  at 
most,  and,  if  he  would  run  the  drag  up  and  down  the  road  adjoining  his 
farm,  he  would  be  surprised  at  the  results.  This  is  one  way  in  which  all  the 
rural  friends  of  the  carriers  can  assist  them,  and  they  will  find  that  they  are 
not  only  assisting  the  carrier,  but  are  also  assisting  themselves  by  making  a 
better  road  between  the  farm  and  town. 

Plans  and  specifications  for  these  drags  have  been  prepared  by  the  North 
Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey  and  by  the  United  States  Office  of 
Public  Roads,  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  either  of  these  offices  will  be  very  glad 
to  furnish  copies  of  these  specifications  to  any  who  desire  them.  The  rural 
carriers  can  assist  in  the  good  road  work  along  this  line  by  seeing  that  all  the 
patrons  of  the  route  have  one  of  these  circulars,  and  then  requesting  them  to 
make  a  drag  and  use  it. 

There  is  another  way  in  which  the  users  of  a  public  road  can  very  materially 
assist  in  keeping  it  in  repair — while  this  applies  to  dirt  roads  more  directly, 
it  is  also  applicable  to  macadam,  sand-clay,  or  gravel  roads,  especially  to  the 
two  latter— and  that  is,  when  you  are  driving  along  the  public  road,  do  not 
always  drive  in  the  same  track  as  the  team  ahead  of  you,  for  if  all  the  teams 
use  the  same  place,  all  the  wear  will  be  along  one  line,  and  the  result  will  be 
a  rut.  By  exercising  a  little  care  and  not  driving  exactly  where  the  last 
wagon  did,  the  wear  will  be  distributed  over  a  greater  part  of  the  surface  of 
the  road,  and  will  keep  it  smooth,  the  road  remaining  in  a  much  better  condi- 


14 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


tion  for  a  longer  time  than  otherwise.  A  plan  has  been  suggested  in  which 
the  carriers  can  assist,  and  that  is  to  distribute  cards,  with  the  following  in¬ 
scription,  to  all  users  of  the  roads: 

“HOW  TO  KEEP  THIS  ROAD  FOR  YEARS 

“This  road  was  constructed  for  your  use. 

“Don’t  drive  in  one  track.  Avoid  making  ruts. 

“If  all  use  one  place,  all  the  wear  will  be  in  one  place  and  make  a  rut. 

“If  you  use  a  little  care  and  do  not  drive  exactly  where  the  last  wagon  did, 
the  wear  will  be  distributed,  which  will  keep  the  surface  smooth  and  the  road 
will  remain  good  for  years;  otherwise,  it  will  soon  he  rutted  and  the  smooth 
surface  gone.” 

Although  the  question  of  the  improvement  of  our  public  roads  has  become 
one  of  the  more  important  ones  of  the  day,  and  is  not  only  a  state  and  county 
question,  but  a  national  one,  yet  there  are  many  people  who  are  still  more  or 
less  opposed  to  good  roads,  and  it  is  still  necessary  to  carry  on  an  educational 
campaign  for  good  roads,  although  every  person,  whether  or  not  they  own 
horses  or  vehicles  that  will  use  the  public  road,  are  very  materially  helped  by 
the  construction  of  good  roads,  and  as  our  people  begin  to  realize  that 
they  are  benefited  by  them  they  will  use  their  influence  to  see  that  they  are 
constructed  in  their  communities.  Here,  again,  the  carrier  can  cooperate 
with  others  in  spreading  the  gospel  of  good  roads.  Realizing  themselves  the 
benefits  that  a  community  will  derive  from  good  roads,  let  them  spread  this 
information  throughout  a  community,  trying  to  get  the  people  organized  into 
county  and  even  township  good  roads  associations,  although  the  membership 
at  the  start  may  not  be  more  than  half-a-dozen.  By  continued  effort,  others 
will  become  interested  in  this  important  question,  and  before  long  the  routes 
of  the  rural  carriers  will  be  improved  roads.  This  will  do  more  than  any¬ 
thing  else  to  solve  the  problem  of  how  fast  new  routes  can  be  established.  As 
I  have  already  stated,  the  demand  for  new  routes  is  constantly  increasing, 
and  one  of  our  congressmen  has  stated  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives  that  he  will  not  be  satisfied  until  more  routes  are  established  in 

his  district  and  better  service  of  the  rural  free  delivery  system  is  obtained, 

\ 

so  that  every  farmhouse  shall  have  its  mail  delivered  at  its  door.  While  the 
accomplishment  of  this  congressman’s  desire,  which  I  believe  is  not  excep¬ 
tional,  will  require  the  expenditure  of  considerable  money  by  the  Federal 
government,  yet,  to  my  mind,  it  is  not  this  large  expenditure  of  money  that 
will  delay  this,  but  the  fact  that  this  congressman’s  district  is  not  traversed 
by  good  roads.  I  can  assure  you  that  an  application  for  a  rural  free  delivery 
route  that  will  be  over  a  good  road  will  receive  very  favorable  consideration 
by  the  Postoffice  Department;  but  if  the  proposed  route  is  over  a  poor  road,  it 
will  be  very  hard  to  obtain  favorable  consideration.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  it  is 
more  largely  a  question  of  good  roads  than  of  the  cost  of  the  route  that  will 
determine  how  fast  the  routes  will  be  extended. 

As  I  have  stated,  the  road  question  is  not  only  a  county  and  state  question, 
but  also  a  national  one,  and  although  it  may  be  some  time  before  we  will 
obtain  national  aid  for  good  roads,  yet  I  believe  the  time  will  come  when  the 
Federal  government  will  assist  the  states  in  the  construction  of  through  post 
roads  leading  from  capital  to  capital.  I  do  believe,  however,  that  the  Federal 
government  will  very  shortly  assist  the  states  in  the  construction  of  through 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


15 


post  roads  leading  to  the  United  States  Office  of  Public  Roads  to  enable  them 
to  carry  on  experiments  regarding  the  best  surfacing  material  for  roads,  and 
also  to  assist  the  states  by  giving  them  engineering  assistance,  so  that  there 
will  be  a  more  yniform  method  in  the  construction  and  location  of  roads 
throughout  the  different  states. 

There  are  two  other  points  in  connection  with  the  benefits  that  a  community 
will  derive  from  good  roads  that  I  wish  to  mention,  for  the  reason  that  they 
have  a  bearing  upon  rural  delivery:  (1)  Inasmuch  as  they  relate  to  increase 
of  population  in  rural  districts.  North  Carolina  is  a  comparatively  thinly 
populated  State.  Our  State  is  able  to  support  three  to  five  times,  or  more,  the 
population  that  we  have  at  the  present  time,  and  the  question  has  come  up 
how  to  increase  the  population  of  our  rural  section.  It  is  not  the  desire  of 
the  State  to  simply  obtain  an  influx  of  labor,  but  to  obtain  an  influx  of  home- 
seekers,  to  become  citizens  of  the  State  and  at  the  same  time  furnish  the  kind 
of  labor  that  is  needed  in  our  rural  sections.  We  desire  the  better  class  of 
home-seekers,  and  these  will  want,  and  demand,  schools  for  their  children  and 
good  roads  to  connect  them  with  the  town  and  market.  The  class  of  Euro¬ 
pean  immigrants  that  North  Carolina  would  desire  have  been  accustomed  to 
excellent  roads  in  their  own  country,  and  it  is  natural  that  a  section  of  coun¬ 
try  that  is  traversed  by  good  roads  connecting  the  various  farming  districts 
with  the  market  and  providing  the  means  of  intercourse  between  different 
neighbors  would  be  more  attractive  than  those  districts  in  which  the  roads 
are  poor  and  at  some  times  of  the  year  almost  impassable.  This  class  of 
immigrants,  however,  is  not  the  only  one  which  North  Carolina  wishes  to 
bring  into  her  border;  we  wish  to  attract  Americans  from  other  parts  of  the 
United  States,  and  we  have  to  offer  them  splendid  investments  in  farming 
lands,  waterpowers,  and  manufacturing  industries.  The  class  of  people  who 
will  come  and  take  up  such  industries  will  demand  good  roads,  and  it  is  up 
to  us  to  provide  good  roads  if  we  expect  to  induce  these  investors  and  home- 
seekers  to  come  amongst  us. 

Let  us  now  see  what  influence  such  an  influx  of  people  would  have  on  rural 
delivery.  It  would  mean  a  greater  number  of  people  in  our  rural  sections, 
which  would  increase  the  number  of  families  along  certain  routes,  and  there 
would,  therefore,  be  a  greater  reason  for  the  establishment  of  these  routes. 
It  would  also  mean  that  the  new  settlers  would  be,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
good-road  advocates,  and  would  do  their  utmost  to  see  that  the  roads  were 
improved  and  maintained. 

Have  you  ever  noticed  how  the  railroads  are  constantly  improving  their 
roadbeds  and  their  rolling  stock,  and  spending  large  sums  advertising  the 
railroad  facilities  of  certain  sections  through  which  they  pass,  in  their  at¬ 
tempts  to  induce  labor  and  capital  to  locate  there,  in  order  to  build  up  those 
communities  and  so  increase  the  traffic  and  passenger  revenue  of  the  railroad? 
If  the  railroads  consider  this  necessary,  how  much  more  important  that  the 
counties  and  towns  should  improve  their  roads,  making  them,  as  far  as  possi¬ 
ble,  macadam,  sand-clay,  or  gravel,  and  thus  offer  the  strongest  inducements 
for  capital  and  labor  to  invest  in  their  sections. 

It  is  a  substantiated  fact  that  no  state  in  the  Union  is  so  attractive  to  every 
class  seeking  new  homes  and  new  investments  as  North  Carolina.  Most  of 
these  people  will  select  their  locations  on  good  roads.  Some  will  be  deterred 
from  investing  on  account  of  the  poor  roads  in  the  sections  wheie  the>  had 

2 


16 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


expected  to  settle.  Many  do  not  want  to  settle  in  our  cities,  towns,  or  even 
villages,  but  want  to  be  out  on  farms  five  or  ten  miles  from  the  city  or  town, 
but  want  to  be  connected  with  the  city  by  good  roads.  If  good  roads  are  so  im¬ 
portant  to  those  coming  into  North  Carolina,  whether  they  be  capitalists, 
health,  pleasure  or  home-seekers,  or  laborers,  how  much  more  important 
should  good  roads  be  to  those  already  settled  in  North  Carolina. 

The  second  point  that  I  wish  to  take  up  is  the  relation  of  good  roads  to  our 
rural  people.  Improved  roads  will  make  possible,  at  all  times  of  the  year, 
social  intercourse  between  neighbors  and  between  country  and  town.  It  will 
be  possible  for  neighbors  to  visit  each  other  at  any  time  without  walking  or 
driving  through  the  mud.  To  my  mind,  this  will  be  one  of  the  strongest 
factors  toward  keeping  the  young  people  on  the  farm,  and  we  will  not  have 
so  many  of  our  boys  and  girls  rushing  to  towns  and  cities  to  accept  positions, 
at  small  wages,  in  stores  and  mills,  preferring  more  or  less  hardship  in  town 
to  the  isolation  of  the  farm.  Notice,  for  instance,  how  many  of  our  city 
people  are  buying  up  property  in  the  country  where  it  is  connected  by  im¬ 
proved  roads  with  the  city,  preferring  country  life,  provided  they  can  easily 
and  quickly  reach  the  city. 

At  the  present  time  it  is  possible  for  any  country  place  to  have  all  the  modj 
era  conveniences  that  can  be  found  in  any  city,  and  at  no  greater  expense; 
yet,  even  if  the  country  home  is  supplied  with  all  these,  if  it  is  separated  by 
five  or  ten  miles  from  the  city  by  bad  roads,  these  other  modern  improvements 
count  for  little;  for  it  is  the  isolation  that  the  young  people  are  objecting  to, 
and  not  the  work  or  the  life  on  the  farm  itself. 

Recently  I  made  inquiry  at  one  of  our  county-seats  regarding  the  number 
of  young  people  who,  becoming  of  age,  had  left  the  county.  I  found  that 
within  the  past  three  years,  out  of  forty  young  people  who  had  become  of  age, 
and  who  had  resided  within  three  miles  of  the  courthouse,  all  but  five  or  six 
had  left  and  gone  to  other  places  to  live.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  reason 
was  bad  roads. 

Improve  your  roads  and  you  will  be  able  to  keep  the  young  people  on  the 
farms;  improve  your  roads  and  you  will  find  the  men  coming  back  to  the 
farms.  The  farmer  who  has  improved  his  soil,  and  is  making  farming  a 
scientific  profession,  and  is  connected  with  town  and  market  by  a  good  road, 
is  the  most  independent  man  alive;  and  the  whole  country  is  beginning  to 
realize  this. 

Thus  we  see  that  good  roads  will  increase  the  population  of  our  rural  dis¬ 
tricts  by  bringing  in  outsiders  who  are  attracted  by  the  investments  offered, 
and  keep  our  own  young  people  on  the  farms,  and  this,  as  I  stated  before,  as 
much  as  anything  else,  will  increase  the  rural  free  delivery  routes  in  different 
sections  of  the  State. 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


17 


THE  RELATIONSHIP  OF  COLLEGES  ANI)  UNIVERSITIES  TO  THE 

GOOD  ROADS  MOVEMENT 


By  Dr.  Edward  K.  Graham,  President  University  of  North  Carolina. 


The  most  obvious  relation  between  what  is  called  higher  education  and 
good  roads  is  in  furnishing  adequate  instruction  in  civil  and  highway  engi¬ 
neering  for  students  who  wish  to  make  road-building  their  profession.  A 
second  relation  of  a  direct  sort  is  in  the  expert  engineering  service  college 
professors  may  render  the  communities  in  which  they  live.  Both  of  these 
functions  of  instruction  and  leadership  we  have  undertaken  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  and  with  gratifying  results.  We  have  a  four-year  course  in 
highway  engineering  that  is  attracting  some  of  our  best  students.  Between 
five  and  ten  men  are  specializing  now  in  this  work,  and  those  who  have 
already  been  turned  out  have  immediately  “made  good.”  Our  professors  are 
actively  engaged  in  road  construction  in  Orange  County  and  in  the  State  at 
large.  It  is  our  purpose  to  develop  this  department  as  rapidly  as  means  are 
available  along  lines  of  wider  service  and  efficiency. 

But  beyond  this  direct  service  in  teaching  and  supervision  there  is  a  deeper 
relation  that  is  more  important.  It  furnishes  the  answer  to  the  interesting- 
question  as  to  why  it  is  that  colleges  that  used  to  exist  to  teach  Greek,  history, 
mathematics,  Hebrew,  and  the  like,  to  prospective  ministers,  teachers,  law¬ 
yers,  and  doctors  find  themselves  adding  to  the  standard  courses  of  the  classi¬ 
cal  curriculum  courses  in  road-building  or  whatever  else  our  present  civiliza¬ 
tion  needs  to  know.  The  answer  is  simple.  Education  has  come  to  see  that 
the  whole  field  of  our  present  civilization  is  its  field,  and  that  it  is  the  great 
cooperating  agency  in  converting  material  forces  into  more  productive  and 
higher  values.  It  has  come  to  see  that  a  sound  physical  and  material  life 
promotes  a  sound  spiritual  life,  that  we  do  not  have  to  choose  one  and  discard 
the  other. 

The  good  Samaritan  did  a  religious  act  when  he  healed  the  physical  wounds 
of  the  man  by  the  road  and  then  provided  him  with  money  to  keep  him  in 
physical  comfort. 

Learning  has  not  abandoned  the  high  standards  of  its  earlier  da^s,  it  has 
abandoned  its  remoteness  and  mystery.  It  has  come  from  its  cloister  to  make 
its  temple  in  the  streets  and  on  the  roads  where  men  dwell.  The  modern 
college  has  not  lost  any  of  the  heights  that  the  old  college  won;  it  is  mei ely 
making  those  heights  more  accessible.  We  still  believe  that  Homer  and 
Shakespeare  and  the  political  science  of  Adam  Smith  and  the  binomial  theo¬ 
rem  are  immensely  important.  We  still  believe  that  it  is  important  to  know 
the  economic  status  of  the  ancient  Roman.  But  we  believe  that  it  is  more 
important  to  know  the  economic  status  of  the  present  North  Carolinian. 
Road-building,  corporation  commissions,  hookworm  campaigns,  rural  credit 
systems,  taxation  adjustments,  market  facilities— all  the  hundreds  of  mani¬ 
festations  of  our  complex  material  life  are  necessarily  a  part  of  any  education 
that  is  vital.  It  is  the  business  of  education  and  of  all  of  the  so-called 
higher  interests  to  know  every  detail  of  the  material  life  of  North  Carolina 
in  order,  through  sympathy  and  efficient  cooperation,  to  facilitate  genuine 
progress.  We  will  have  poverty-stricken,  disintegrating  country  churches  1 


18 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


our  religion  does  not  take  account  of  the  present  bread-and-butter  life  for 
everybody  under  a  wise,  practical  economy,  as  well  as  a  happy  future  life  for 
a  few  under  an  abstract  theology.  We  will  still  rest  oppressed  at  the  bottom 
of  the  column  of  illiterates  until  we  people  who  believe  in  good  schools  realize 
more  fully  that  for  the  schools  to  be  prosperous  the  people  must  be  pros¬ 
perous. 

It  is  so  with  all  the  aspects  of  good  citizenship.  It  is  difficult  to  be  a  good 
citizen,  and  build  a  strong  commonwealth,  on  an  empty  stomach.  Nor  does 
such  a  statement  magnify  the  function  of  the  stomach.  It  is  merely  to  say 
that  the  higher  functions  must  see  that  the  stomach  is  sound;  that  all  those 
who  are  careful  for  the  higher  interests  in  the  uplift  of  the  State  should  re¬ 
member  that  the  material  well-being  of  all  our  people  is  a  part  of  the  min¬ 
istry  of  us  all.  We  need  to  see  our  State  life  as  a  unit  and  not  as  divided 
into  banker  against  farmer,  town  against  country,  material  against  spiritual, 
but  as  a  cooperative  enterprise  in  making  good  impulses  efficient  and  pros¬ 
perous. 

When  we  look  at  the  facts  of  the  condition  of  our  schools,  our  churches, 
our  roads,  we  are  discouraged  and  wonder  what  can  be  the  trouble.  When  we 
look  at  the  facts  of  our  yearly  community  surplus,  on  which  these  community 
enterprises  are  conducted,  we  see  clearly  enough  what  the  trouble  is.  Dr. 
Bradford  Knapp  told  the  bankers  in  Asheville  a  few  months  ago  that  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  North  Carolina  were  sending  $39,640,885  out  of  the  State  every  year  for 
supplies  that  might  have  been  raised  at  home.  Secretary  Leake'  Carraway  of 
the  Charlotte  Club  says  the  feedstuff  imported  into  the  State  for  this  year  will 
amount  to  more  than  $50,000,000.  The  farms  of  the  State  in  1909  created  209 
millions  of  dollars,  but  the  feed  bill  was  223  millions.  In  the  words  of  Pro¬ 
fessor  Branson,  who  compiled  these  figures,  the  wealth-creating  power  of  North 
Carolina  and  of  the  other  southern  states  is  enormous,  but  our  wealth-holding 
power  is  feeble.  We  have  produced  in  two  and  a  half  years  more  than  we 
have  accumulated  on  our  tax  books  for  two  and  a  half  centuries.  It  is  on  our 
yearly  cash  balance  that  all  of  our  public  enterprises  depend  for  support. 

There,  then,  is  the  problem  for  the  good-roads  people,  the  good-schools  peo¬ 
ple,  the  good-churches  people:  how  can  we  make  the  community  bank  account 
more  prosperous?  We  can  make  this  question  more  concrete:  how  can  we 
protect  and  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  home  of  the  productive  man  on  the 
farm?  For  if  we  picture  our  southern  civilization  from  any  angle  we  choose, 
looking  at  it  through  the  school,  the  church,  the  store,  the  railroad,  we  see  as 
the  saving  grace  of  it  the  prosperous  farm,  tilled  by  its  owner.  There  is  the 
living  heart  of  the  matter.  The  civilization  planted  on  a  prosperous  home- 
owned  farm  is  like  a  tree  planted  by  rivers  of  water;  planted  on  political  and 
social  economy  that  discourage  and  prevent  ownership,  its  leaf  and  fruit  will 
be  withered  and  barren.  None  of  our  institutions  will  be  prosperous  if  this 
productive  farm  is  not  safely  prosperous,  and  the  facts  tell  us  that  it  is  not 
safely  prosperous.  Home  ownership  of  our  producing  farms  is  decreasing 
instead  of  increasing.  In  1880,  33  per  cent  of  the  farmers  in  North  Carolina 
were  tenants;  in  1890,  34  per  cent;  in  1900,  41  per  cent;  in  1910,  42  per  cent. 
Tenancy  has  left  its  black  blight  across  civilization  after  civilization,  scorch¬ 
ing  spiritual  as  well  as  material  life.  Under  tenancy  the  yffiole  social  scheme 
becomes  unstable  and  falls  into  decay.  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  prime  mover 
in  restoring  landless  peasants  to  land-ownership  and  thereby  redeeming  Ire¬ 
land,  says  of  our  farm-tenancy  system:  “It  is  the  worst  of  which  I  have  any 
knowledge  in  any  country.” 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


19 


But  I  do  not  mean  to  discuss  in  any  detail  the  Question  of  farm  tenancy ; 
I  merely  mean  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  however  material  this  and  similar 
questions  may  seem  to  be  on  the  surface,  they  are  vitally  related  to  every 
higher  aspect  of  our  civilization.  We  have  enough  good  citizens  in  North 
Carolina  and  in  other  southern  states  to  solve  this  and  all  other  complex 
problems  of  our  rapidly  expanding  industrial  life.  In  solving  them,  I  have 
the  temerity  to  believe  that  good  citizenship  will  express  itself  in  some  form 
more  statesmanlike  than  great  philanthropic  gifts  to  alleviate  human  poverty 
and  crime.  Better  business  and  a  truer  citizenship  and  philanthropy  are 
those  that  prevent  poverty  and  crime  rather  than  attempt  to  relieve  them 
after  they  have  been  a  party  to  their  creation.  Asylums  and  jails  are  more 
often  a  sign  of  bad  civic  economy  than  of  deliberate  sin  and  bad  human  mo¬ 
tive.  Education  that  goes  with  a  plan  of  increased  local  tax  in  one  hand 
should  go  with  a  plan  of  increased  ability  to  pay  in  the  other;  Christian 
philanthropy  that  goes  with  a  plan  of  salvation  on  one  hand  should  go  with 
a  liberal  land  lease  and  credit  system  in  the  other.  We  need  conferences  on 
good  roads  for  the  good-roads  people,  and  conferences  on  good  schools  for  the 
good-schools  people,  and  on  good  churches  for  the  good-churches  people;  but  we 
need  conferences  for  the  common  good  by  all  the  good  people  in  every  county 
in  every  southern  state  to  discover  all  the  facts  of  our  present  civilization  and 
their  common  relationship,  and  so  develop  the  spirit  of  efficient  and  sympa¬ 
thetic  cooperation  that  is  the  basis  of  the  permanently  progressive  life  we  are 
all  seeking. 

A  few  days  ago  the  newspapers  pictured  an  incident  that  transfixed  the  at¬ 
tention  of  the  world.  A  ship  loaded  with  hundreds  of  human  souls  was 
burned  at  sea  in  a  terrific  storm  at  night.  The  shell  of  wood  in  the  grip  of 
fire  and  wind  and  wave  and  darkness  and  the  precious  freight  it  bore  was  a 
pitiable  spectacle  in  its  contest  with  the  omnipotent  forces  that  sought  to 
destroy  it.  But  the  same  power  that  rode  in  violence  upon  the  storm  had 
provided  through  the  slow  and  painful  civilization  of  the  years  the  means  of 
protection.  The  miraculous  voice  of  the  wireless  called  through  the  noise 
of  wind  and  wave  and  assembled  the  sympathy  and  courage  of  the  citizenship 
of  the  sea;  it  reached  across  miles  of  darkness  and  storm  and  found  a  repre¬ 
sentative  of  perfectly  organized  American  business  efficiency — the  oil  ship. 
And  the  annihilating  warfare  of  the  most  terrific  of  natural  forces  was  stilled 
into  peace.  Behind  this  dramatic  spectacle  we  can  see  the  spectacle  of  our 
civilization  working  out  its  salvation  by  the  same  processes,  through  the  co¬ 
operation  of  the  same  forces:  knowledge  taking  account  of  material  facts  and 
using  its  facts  to  build  to  higher  knowledge  and  joining  with  commerce,  and 
faith,  and  heroism,  and  brotherhood  toward  still  higher  power  and  the  free¬ 
dom  and  more  abundant  life  that  comes  from  learning  the  use  and  laws  and 
ways  of  material  forces. 

This  is  what  we  call  civilization.  The  thing  that  happened  there  on  the  sea 
makes  up  our  everyday  life.  The  river  slips  by  the  town  and  runs  to  the  sea, 
a  muddy,  turbulent  stream.  Its  force  is  caught  and  converted  into  usable 
power.  It  turns  the  factory  wheels,  lights  the  streets,  lights  the  school  and 
the  home  and  the  church.  It  is  purified  and  cleans  the  town  and  gives  it 
health.  We  have  mastered  the  fact  of  it,  its  ways  and  its  laws,  and  the  turbu¬ 
lent  stream  is  no  longer  mere  material,  undirected  force;  it  is  spiritual  life. 

We  call  this  process  of  mastering  the  ways  and  laws  of  material  forces,  that 
they  may  lead  to  high  and  higher  productivity,  education.  It  knows  no  high 
and  no  low. 


20 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


That  is  why  education  is  interested  in  the  good  road.  It  is  an  instrument 
of  material  progress.  It  is  an  open  door  to  civic  and  spiritual  expansion.  It 
is  an  avenue  at  once  of  commerce  and  culture,  an  invitation  to  individual  and 
community  development.  It  leads  everywhere  and  is  symbolical  of  all  progress; 
“The  road  that  leads  in  front  of  my  door  is  the  road  that  leads  to  the  end  of 
the  world,”  and  the  wonderful  fact  is  that  for  me  it  is  the  only  road. 


PUBLIC  ROADS  AND  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


By  Dr.  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist. 


Charles  Sumner  once  said:  “The  road  and  the  schoolmaster  are  the  two 
most  important  agencies  in  the  advancement  of  civilization.”  This  is  well 
put,  as  the  efficiency  of  the  schoolmaster,  or  public  school,  is  closely  allied 
with  the  condition  of  the  public  roads  of  the  neighborhood,  especially  in  the 
rural  districts.  The  relationship  between  the  public  roads  and  the  public 
school  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

Good  roads  well  maintained  make  it  possible  to  have — 

(1)  Larger  school  districts,  with  more  money,  larger  and  better-equipped 
houses,  and  the  possibility  of  having  a  graded  school  rather  than  the  old-time 
one-room  schoolhouse  with  one  teacher  teaching  all  grades. 

(2)  Through  the  agency  of  good  roads,  school  attendance  will  increase 
from  50  to  75  per  cent,  for  parents  along  a  good  road  could  employ  a  wagon  or 
carriage  to  transfer  the  children  to  and  from  school,  thus  making  it  possible 
for  them  to  attend  during  all  kinds  of  weather  without  danger  to  their  health. 

(3)  Along  good  roads  you  will  find  better  kept  homes,  more  attention  to 
cultivation  of  flowers  around  the  home,  better  social  life,  and  happier  rural 
communities. 

In  fact,  a  state's  rating  educationally  may  be  said  to  be  directly  dependent 
upon  the  condition  of  its  country  roads  in  so  far  as  its  rural  communities  are 
concerned.  Statistics  have  shown  that  in  five  states  with  a  large  percentage 
of  bad  roads,  the  average  school  attendance  is  59  per  cent;  and  in  five  good- 
road  states  the  attendance  is  78  per  cent.  In  four  bad-road  states — Arkansas, 
Missouri,  Mississippi  and  North  Carolina — there  are  over  8,000,000  people,  and 
about  400,000  native-born  white  people  in  these  states  cannot  read  and  write. 
In  calling  the  first  good-roads  convention  ever  held  in  the  State,  our  “Educa¬ 
tional  Governor,”  Charles  B.  Aycock,  spoke  as  follows: 

“We  can  never  educate  the  children  of  North  Carolina  unless  we  shall  have 
huilt  such  roads  as  will  bring  them  close  together,  whether  they  live  within  a 
few  or  many  miles  of  each  other.”  He  further  said:  “If  we  expect  to  get  the 
power  of  combination  and  unity,  we  must  make  better  roads.  We  have  de¬ 
termined  to  educate  all  the  children  of  the  State;  in  order  to  attain  that  de¬ 
sirable  end  we  must  have  larger  school  districts;  in  order  to  have  these  we 
must  put  the  roads  in  such  condition  in  the  country  that  the  children  can 
attend  school  from  longer  distances.” 

In  connection  with  the  “Good  Roads  Days”  set  apart  by  Governor  Craig  in 
November,  1914,  a  pamphlet  was  issued  by  the  State  Board  of  Education  and 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


21 


distributed  largely  among  the  public  schools,  giving  certain  information  and 
data  regarding  the  public  roads.  In  his  letter  to  the  county  superintendents 
and  boards  of  education,  Mr.  Joyner  says: 

“To  become  permanent,  all  great  movements  for  civic  and  industrial  im¬ 
provement  must  begin  with  the  teaching  of  the  children  in  the  school.  The 
rising  generation  should  be  taught  the  necessity  and  importance  of  good  roads 
in  North  Carolina;  should  be  brought  to  see  the  relation  of  these  to  the  future 
comfort,  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  State  along  all  lines.  Nothing  is  more 
essential  than  good  roads  for  increasing  the  efficiency  of  our  schools.  Con¬ 
solidation  and  transportation,  so  necessary  for  larger  schools;  larger  taxation 
areas;  better  houses  and  equipment;  more  and  better  teachers,  with  better 
organized,  more  advanced  and  more  practical  courses  of  study,  for  better 
preparation  for  life  and  its  daily  occupations,  are  practically  impossible  with¬ 
out  good  roads. 

The  National  Education  Association,  made  up  of  eminent  educators,  thor¬ 
oughly  familiar  with  conditions  existing  all  over  the  country,  have  studied 
this  subject,  and  they  state  that  the  solution  of  the  educational  problem  of  the 
rural  district  is  to  be  found  in  the  consolidated  township  school,  and  that, 
instead  of  having  eight  or  ten  isolated  schoolhouses  placed  at  intervals  at  the 
cross-roads  throughout  the  township— bleak,  dreary  and  uninviting — there 
should  be  one  centrally  located  graded  school  at  the  most  convenient  place, 
with  provision  made  to  get  the  children  to  and  from  school.  To  accomplish 
this,  good  roads  are  absolutely  necessary.  It  is  also  the  idea  of  those  who  are 
now  working  for  civic  advancement  in  the  rural  districts,  that  the  schoolhouse 
should  be  the  center  for  neighborhood  gatherings;  that  it  should  have  a 
library  and  reading-room  to  be  used  not  only  by  the  children  but  also  by  the 
parents;  that  lectures  should  be  given  at  the  schoolhouse  and  the  men  of  the 
community  encouraged  to  gather  and  discuss  questions  of  community,  state 
and  national  import. 

It  was  General  Grant  who  once  said  that  the  solution  of  the  problem  of 
country  life  was  to  be  found  in  good  roads  and  good  schools.  Because  of  the 
lack  of  good  roads  in  North  Carolina,  as  well  as  other  states,  the  trend  has 
been  for  some  time  from  the  farm  to  the  town  and  city,  and  the  rural  com¬ 
munities  have  been  constantly  losing  their  strongest  asset — the  brightest  and 
strongest  of  their  youth.  This  drain  upon  the  rural  communities  is  having- 
far-reaching  results,  affecting  all  of  cur  citizens,  whether  in  the  country  or  in 
town.  When  the  intelligent  portion  of  a  community  is  gone,  the  farm  lands 
are  turned  over  to  the  less  intelligent,  who  work  the  farms  with  the  idea  of 
getting  what  they  can  with  the  least  expenditure  of  energy  and  money.  It  is 
an  historical  fact  that  when  tenants  begin  to  have  charge  of  lands  there  is  a 
quick  and  constant  decrease  in  farm  products.  With  the  advent  of  good 
roads  through  any  such  communities  and  the  easy  facilities  offered  by  them 
for  social  intercourse  and  for  marketing  farm  products,  the  more  intelligent 
youth  will  see  the  abundant  opportunities  for  engaging  his  activities  in  an 
occupation  which  offers  not  only  success  and  prosperity,  but  happiness,  on  the 
farm.  The  rural  educators  are  beginning  to  encourage  young  boys  and  girls 
to  learn  the  scientific  principles  of  agriculture,  poultry  raising,  dairying,  etc., 
and  this  movement  can  be  encouraged  and  made  more  effective  with  the  build¬ 
ing  of  good  roads. 

The  rural  free  delivery  has  become  an  established  fact  among  our  rural  peo¬ 
ple,  and  has  had  a  potent  educational  influence.  The  Postoffice  Department  at 


22 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


Washington,  however,  has  made  certain  rules  with  regard  to  the  discontinu¬ 
ance  of  routes  if  the  roads  along  these  routes  are  allowed  to  become  impassa¬ 
ble  or  are  not  kept  up  with  some  degree  of  efficiency.  If,  therefore,  we  are  to 
have  full  benefits  from  the  rural  free  delivery  system,  we  must  have  not  only 
our  systems  of  main  country  roads  well  surfaced,  but  a  system  of  secondary 
dirt  roads  well  shaped  and  well  maintained. 

If,  then,  education  means  liberty,  and  if  poor  roads  mean  illiteracy  or  worse, 
as  we  are  shown  by  statistics,  have  we  a  right  not  to  build  good  roads  even  if 
they  would  not  pay  for  themselves  well  within  the  generation  that  builds 
them?  To  quote  Professor  N.  S.  Shaler,  of  Harvard  University:  “Perhaps 
the  best  of  the  many  measures  which  may  be  applied  to  the  United  States  in 
order  to  determine  the  degree  of  advancement  to  which  they  have  attained, 
may  be  found  in  the  condition  of  their  common  roads.  On  the  character  of 
these  ways  intimately  depends  the  ease  with  which  the  people  secure  neigh¬ 
borly  communication  as  well  as  advantageous  relations  to  the  outer  world.  It 
is  doubtful,  indeed,  whether  a  sound  democracy,  dependent  as  it  is  on  close 
and  constant  interaction  of  the  local  life,  can  well  be  maintained  in  a  country 
where  the  roadways  put  a  heavy  tax  on  human  intercourse.” 


BENEFITS  OF  ROADS  TO  NON-ABUTTING  PROPERTY  OWNERS 


Southern  Good  Roads  for  January,  1915. 


The  road-building  specialists  of  the  department,  in  Bulletin  No.  136,  enti¬ 
tled  “Highway  Bonds,”  have  the  following  to  say  about  the  benefit  of  a  well- 
constructed  highway  to  property  owners  whose  property  is  not  directly  on  the 
road  to  be  improved: 

In  planning  the  highway  system  or  the  main  market  roads  it  will  be  found 
necessary  to  omit  many  roads  the  improvement  of  which  is  greatly  desired  by 
abutting  landowners.  The  fact  that  such  property  holders  must  pay  a  tax  for 
the  bond  issue  is  only  an  apparent  injustice,  for  if  the  highway  system  is  well 
planned  the  entire  county  will  feel  the  benefits  of  the  improvement.  As  a 
rule,  main  market  roads  reach  the  majority  of  producing  areas,  and  when  they 
are  improved  all  land  values  tend  to  increase. 

The  fact  that  cities  and  larger  towns  are  frequently  taxed  for  bond  issues  to 
build  highways  outside  of  their  own  limits  is  sometimes  made  a  point  of  debate 
in  bond  elections.  It  is  argued  that  because  a  large  part  of  the  county  wealth 
is  within  the  corporate  limit  of  such  cities  and  towns,  highway  bond  money 
should  also  be  used  to  construct  their  streets.  It  is  even  urged  that  the  ex¬ 
penditure  should  be  made  proportionate  to  the  assessed  valuation  within  the 
city  limits.  If  the  proceeds  of  highway  bond  issues  were  distributed  in  this 
way,  their  purpose  in  many  cases  would  be  defeated.  The  primary  object  of 
the  county  highway  bond  issue  is  to  build  county  market  roads,  and  not  to 
improve  city  streets,  although  a  high  percentage  of  the  assessed  valuation 
may  be  city  property.  It  is  now  known  that  the  expenditure  of  city  taxes 
on  country  roads  is  a  sound  principle,  and  that  it  is  one  of  the  best  features 
of  state  aid  for  highways.  In  Massachusetts  the  city  of  Boston  pays  possibly 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


23 


40  per  cent  of  the  total  State  highway  fund,  hut  not  a  mile  of  State-aid  high¬ 
way  has  been  built  within  its  limits.  New  York  City  also  pays  about  60  per 
cent  of  the  cost  of  the  State  highway  bonds.  Some  state  laws  prohibit  the 
expenditure  of  proceeds  of  state  highway  bonds  within  corporate  limits  of 
cities  or  towns. 

The  improvement  of  market  roads  results  in  improved  marketing  conditions, 
which  benefit  the  city.  Most  cities  are  essentially  dependent  upon  the  sur¬ 
rounding  country  for  their  prosperity  and  development.  The  development 
of  suburban  property  for  residence  purposes  is  also  dependent  upon  highway 
conditions,  and  it  is  becoming  evident  yearly  that  whatever  makes  for  an 
increase  in  rural  population  must  be  encouraged.  Since  the  introduction  of 
motor  traffic,  country  highways  are  used  to  an  increasing  extent  by  city  resi¬ 
dents.  In  fact,  the  cost  of  maintaining  many  country  highways  has  been 
greatly  increased  by  the  presence  of  city-owned  motor  vehicles.  The  general 
advance  in  facilities  for  doing  country  business  from  town  headquarters,  when 
roads  are  improved,  is  no  inconsiderable  factor  in  the  commercial  life  of  the 
community. 


ECONOMICS  OF  GOOD  IIOADS 


By  D.  A.  Tompkins. 


Economics  is  simply  a  science  of  doing  a  thing  in  the  cheapest  and  best 
way.  Nothing  is  more  astonishing  than  the  variations  in  the  cost  of  trans¬ 
portation.  To  illustrate  this  I  have  compiled  the  following  table: 

One  horse  or  mule,  or  one  H.  P.  electricity  or  steam  can  pull  at  the  rate  of 
three  miles  an  hour,  as  follows: 

(1)  Over  common  dirt  road,  such  as  the  average  of  our  county  roads,  1  bale 
of  cotton  (about  14  ton). 

(2)  Over  a  graded  and  drained  road,  2  bales  of  cotton  (about  y2  ton). 

(3)  Over  a  graded  and  macadamized  or  sand  and  clay  road,  4  bales  of  cotton 
(about  1  ton) . 

(4)  Over  a  graded  way  on  a  trolley  track,  20  bales  of  cotton  (about  5  tons). 

(5)  In  a  canal  boat  on  a  canal,  100  bales  of  cotton  (about  25  tons). 

(6)  I11  a  steamship  on  the  ocean,  200  bales  of  cotton  (about  50  tons). 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  ocean  is  the  cheapest  means  of  transportation  in 
the  world.  Next  to  the  ocean  comes  the  canal.  The  ocean  is  the  superior  of 
the  two  because  of  the  bigness  of  the  ship  which  may  be  employed,  and  of  the 
speed  of  the  ship  which  may  be  attained  and  maintained.  In  a  canal,  if  there 
is  too  much  speed,  the  banks  wash  and  the  canal  is  ruined.  In  the  olden  time 
the  ocean  was  practically  the  only  means  of  cheap  transportation,  theiefore 
all  the  big  cities  developed  on  the  ocean,  and  with  ocean  facilities.  To  get 
into  the  interior  the  canal  was  the  first  cheap  means,  then  came  the  lailroad, 
still  not  so  cheap,  and  yet  cheap  enough  to  go  far  into  the  inteiioi ,  then  came 
graded  macadam  highways.  Interior  points  must  of  necessity  have  some  bet¬ 
ter  way  of  communication  with  ocean  cities,  and  some  better  way  of  interior 

communication,  than  the  old  dirt  road. 

Civilization  means  citification,  which  in  turn  means  many  people  and  mul- 


24 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


titudinous  exchanges  of  products.  This  exchange  is  accomplished  by  trans¬ 
portation.  Transportation  facilities  are  chiefly  comprised  of  two  factors:  the 
permanent  way  and  the  vehicle.  The  ocean  is  one  permanent  way  and  the 
ship  is  its  vehicle.  The  canal  is  another  permanent  way  and  the  canal  boat 
is  its  vehicle.  The  railway  is  another  permanent  way  and  the  cars  are  its 
vehicle.  The  graded  macadam  highway  is  another  permanent  way  and  the 
wagon  or  other  instrument  of  carriage  is  its  vehicle.  The  most  important 
side  of  these  factors  is  the  permanent  way.  It  counts  far  more  than  the 
vehicle.  In  most  cases  the  vehicle  couldn’t  move  at  all  without  the  perma¬ 
nent  way.  It  is  almost  true  that  on  parts  of  the  old  mud  roads  you  couldn’t 
use  any  vehicles  at  all. 

Therefore,  as  civilization  grows,  and  we  wish  to  make  any  community 
civilized,  we  must  provide  good  transportation  facilities  of  the  kinds  suited 
to  the  pursuits  of  the  people.  Therefore,  we  need  good  roads. 


EFFECTS  OF  GOOD  ROADS  ON  IMMIGRATION 


By  Col.  M.  V.  Richards,  Land  and  Industrial  Agent  of  the 

Southern  Railway. 


It  is  customary,  as  we  all  know,  to  preface  a  public  talk  or  speech  with  some 
perfunctory  remarks;  but  mine  will  be  limited,  at  least,  in  expressing  my 
sincere  pleasure  that  I  am  permitted  to  be  with  you,  to  participate  in  your 
deliberations,  and  to  make  my  contribution  to  the  subject  in  the  interests  of 
which  this  congress  is  assembled. 

The  topic  assigned  me  “Effects  of  Good  Roads  on  Immigration,”  while  bear¬ 
ing  directly  upon  the  main  proposition  that  good  roads  are  followed  by  cer¬ 
tain  results,  has  its  limitations.  Substantially,  it  implies  a  single,  plain 
proposition:  “Is  immigration  into  a  given  section  influenced  by  the  presence 
of  good  roads,  and  if  so,  how?”  The  answer  can  be  given  instantly,  in  one 
word — Yes.  The  balance  of  the  proposition  can  be  treated  concisely  and  needs 
no  long-extended  speech,  no  discursive  arguments. 

Any  opinions  I  may  advance  in  dealing  with  this  question  are  based,  not  at 
all  upon  abstract  theories,  but  upon  observations  extending  through  a  long- 
period  of  years  devoted  to  the  study  of  material  conditions  in  the  South 
mainly,  and  incidentally  in  nearly  every  portion  of  the  United  States.  One 
of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  Land  and  Industrial  Department  of  the 
Southern  Railway  is  to  watch  local  conditions  and  study  local  features  in 
every  part  of  its  territory.  If  a  district  or  town  is  not  progressing,  we  seek 
the  cause  and  undertake  a  remedy.  If  a  section  is  poor  in  public  improve¬ 
ments,  it  is  at  a  disadvantage,  since  it  fails  to  attract  strangers. 

Now,  apply  the  rule  to  an  agricultural  section.  We  will  say  that  the  de¬ 
partment  I  represent  has  induced  a  citizen  of  a  northern  state  accustomed  to 
the  use  and  presence  of  good  roads  to  visit  the  South  in  search  of  a  home  for 
his  family.  He  is  seeking  better  conditions  and  not  worse  conditions  than 
exist  in  his  neighborhood.  We  equip  him  with  information  and  guidance 
enabling  him  to  make  up  an  itinerary  covering  a  particular  section  of  conn- 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


25 


try  within  Southern  Railway  territory.  All  the  natural  advantages  existing 
at  each  of  the  points  to  which  he  is  directed,  or  in  their  vicinity,  are  fully 
stated,  and  he  is  attracted  to  that  section,  believing  it  offers  what  he  is  in 
search  of.  He  stops  off  at  the  nearest  station  and  employs  livery  to  take  him 
through  the  region  he  desires  to  inspect.  His  interview  with  the  liveryman 
develops  the  fact  that  his  objective  point  is,  say,  five  miles  or  ten  miles  from 
the  railway  station.  Accustomed  to  good  roads  where  he  came  from,  he 
reasons  that  he  can  make  the  trip  comfortably  and  cover  the  ten  miles  easily 
in  an  hour  and  a  half,  with  a  lively  team.  But  the  liveryman  tells  him  that 
because  the  roads  are  in  such  bad  condition  it  will  take  three  hours.  If  it  is 
in  the  rainy  season,  the  road  is  washed  out,  intervening  creeks  are  up  and  not 
fordable,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  make  a  long  detour — perhaps  a  mile  or 
two  miles — to  reach  a  bridge,  and  then  a  mile  or  two  miles  to  double  back  on 
the  other  side  of  the  creek.  Or,  he  may  be  told  that  the  old  bridge  is  unsafe, 
or  that  it  has  been  carried  away  by  the  recent  flood,  and  he  will  be  obliged 
to  wait  a  day  or  two  before  the  trip  can  be  made  at  all.  If  it  is  in  winter,  a 
graphic  description  will  be  given  him  of  hardened  ravines  in  the  road,  or  of 
mire  a  foot  deep  in  the  bottoms  to  be  crossed.  Now,  how  does  all  that  appeal 
to  him?  Perhaps  he  reflects  that,  having  come  so  far,  he  will  go  on  to  the 
bitter  end,  and  he  makes  terms  for  the  team  and  a  driver.  Owing  to  the  bad 
road,  which  demands  six  hours  for  the  trip  instead  of  three  hours;  which 
strains  the  buggy  or  hack  and  may  break  the  harness  or  gearing,  strains  his 
stock  and  perhaps  will  cripple  it;  while  two  horses  are  necessary  instead  of 
one — because  of  the  bad  road  and  a  hill  or  several  hills  of  difficulty  are  to  be 
overcome — the  charge  for  the  outfit  and  driver  is  twice  as  much  as  would 
have  been  charged  for  the  same  service  over  a  good  road.  The  bad  road  at 
the  very  beginning  takes  a  heavy  toll  from  the  possible  settler.  Not  alto¬ 
gether  discouraged  yet,  he  orders  the  team;  and  when  it  is  before  him  the 
chances  are  that  it  will  be  a  sorry  spectacle;  horses  broken  down,  spavined, 
wind-broken,  and  lean;  vehicle  mud-painted,  weatherbeaten,  wornout,  and 
ready  for  the  coming  catastrophe.  A  mile  or  less  from  the  town  the  terrors 
of  the  road  begin;  and  if  the  prospector  reaches  his  destination  without  one 
or  more  breakdowns,  he  is  at  least  thankful.  But  by  this  time  he  has  had 
enough  of  that  section;  his  eyes  have  not  been  cheered  by  the  landscape,  they 
have  been  fixed  on  the  bad  road  and  watchful  of  the  ruts.  He  has  come  with 
hope  to  the  railroad  station,  and  it  dies  on  the  road  to  the  farm  he  might  have 
bought.  He  is  lost  to  that  neighborhood.  But,  besides  the  loss  of  a  thrifty, 
useful  and  substantial  settler  and  neighbor,  there  are  consequences  to  follow. 
When  he  returns  to  his  old  home  he  paints  a  picture.  He  tells  the  story  of 
his  hardships  and  his  disappointments.  He  tells  of  the  poor  farmhouses — 
good  enough  for  such  roads,  but  repelling  to  the  eyes  of  thrift.  That  is  an 
advertisement  of  the  section  he  had  visited;  and  all  the  effort  and  all  the 
money  expended  previously  in  his  neighborhood  creating  a  sentiment  and 
inspiring  a  movement  to  that  section  of  bad  roads  are  wasted,  and  not  one 
from  his  neighborhood  nor  from  any  other  community  he  can  reach  will  listen 
to  us  or  to  any  other  who  may  again  attempt  to  secure  settlers  for  a  section 
rich  perhaps  in  possibilities  but  damned  by  its  bad  roads. 

Take  another  example,  that  of  the  actual  settler.  Good  soils,  a  fine  climate, 
heavy  yields  of  crops,  excellent  conditions  for  stock,  have  induced  him  to 
locate  in  a  particular  section.  He  succeeds  as  well  as  his  neighbors,  gathers 
good  crops,  and  there  are  markets  waiting  for  them.  But  the  roads  are  im- 


26 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


passable;  he  must  wait;  and  while  he  waits  his  product  loses  value,  or  is  de¬ 
caying  and  lost  altogether;  or  the  market  declines;  or  all  of  these  things  occur 
together,  and  he  is  a  loser  instead  of  a  gainer.  The  bad  road  did  it.  He 
ruminates  over  this  condition;  he  finds  that  it  costs  too  much  to  get  his  crops 
to  the  railroad;  or  that  sometimes  he  cannot  get  them  there  at  all  until  it  is 
too  late.  He  is  a  man  of  thrift,  of  intelligence,  and  he  sells  out  and  leaves 
that  section  for  one  not  any  better  in  natural  advantages,  perhaps,  but  where 
the  roads  are  good.  That  neighborhood  loses  a  good  citizen  and  neighbor; 
and  is  advertised  abroad  as  an  undesirable  section.  He  has  written  to  his  old 
neighbors  and  warned  them  to  keep  away  from  it. 

Another  and  a  most  serious  evil  inflicted  by  bad  roads  wherever  they  exist 
is  their  prevention  of  educational  progress.  You  find  the  fewest  schools,  the 
poorest  school  accommodation,  the  smallest  attendance,  in  school  districts 
cursed  by  bad  roads.  Every  hardship  imposed  upon  a  pupil  in  going  to  and 
coming  home  from  the  school  is  an  impediment  thrown  in  his  way.  Into  such 
a  section  comes  a  prospective  settler.  Back  at  his  home  he  has  a  family  of 
boys  and  girls  of  school  age.  He  investigates  school  conditions  and  facilities; 
finds  them  deplorable  or  doubtful;  and  finds  that  his  children  must  travel 
several  miles  over  broken  and  often  dangerous  roads  between  home  and 
schoolhouse. 

He  moves  on;  and  buys  a  farm  in  a  progressive  section  where  good  roads 
exist  and  school  facilities  are  on  the  same  plane. 

Another  case  may  be  cited,  where  a  family  is  established.  The  agricultural 
features  are  all  right;  the  climate  is  inviting;  the  people  are  hospitable  and 
agreeable;  a  good  railroad  town  is  only  five  or  ten  miles  distant.  The  new 
settler  came  in  the  dry  season,  when  even  the  worst  roads  may  be  traveled. 
The  road  leading  from  the  station  to  the  farm  he  has  purchased  is  just  then 
wearing  its  best  face,  though  evidently  it  is  a  Janus  face.  In  the  rainy  season, 
in  midwinter,  it  is  no  road  at  all;  it  is  a  nightmare.  The  new  settler’s  best 
team  can  haul  only  part  of  the  load  over  it  on  some  days,  and  on  other  days 
none  at  all.  The  wife,  the  daughters,  with  their  faces  against  the  dripping 
windows,  watch  the  elements  and  the  road.  They  have  wanted  to  go  to  town, 
or  to  visit  a  neighbor  some  miles  away,  for  days  or  for  two  weeks;  but  the 
bad  road  reminds  them  of  some  of  Christian’s  experiences  in  Pilgrim’s  Prog¬ 
ress;  and  they  are  women.  The  Sunday  is  lamentation  day.  No  church,  no 
Sunday  School,  no  outing;  nothing  but  dull  monotony  and  disappointment.  They 
can  go  nowhere;  and  nobody  can  come  to  them.  In  this  case,  the  bad  road  is 
a  trouble-breeder;  the  family  is  in  rebellion;  there  is  neither  peace  nor  hap¬ 
piness  in  that  home,  but  discontent  sits  on  the  hearthstone.  The  settler  moves 
out;  and  the  neighborhood  has  one  more  advertiser — of  its  demerits. 

There  you  have  the  negative  side  of  the  question;  bad  roads  prevent  the 
settlement  of  the  section  by  the  most  desirable  classes;  and  drive  out  those 
who  have  overlooked  or  been  deceived  by  road  conditions. 

It  is  easy  now  to  make  our  deductions,  in  dealing  with  the  other  side  of  the 
question.  It  is  a  pleasure  as  well  as  a  relief  to  pass  to  the  bright  side  of  the 
subject. 

Good  roads  more  than  anything  else  transform  the  rural  district.  They  add 
the  most  pleasing  feature  to  the  landscape.  They  induce  the  building  of  good 
fai  mhouses  along  their  highways,  well  furnished  and  supplied  with  modern 
conveniences  and  the  comforts  of  home.  Fine  horses  and  vehicles  follow,  for 
the  firm,  smooth  road  which  leads  past  the  farmstead  to  the  city  or  town  and 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


27 


through  prosperous  neighborhoods  tempts  the  farmer  and  inspires  him  with 
emulation  when  he  sees  well-groomed  and  well-bred  roadsters  and  handsome 
equipages  passing  his  door  daily,  in  good  weather  or  bad,  with  no  risk  of 
break  or  strain,  even  at  a  clipping  gait. 

Good  roads,  therefore,  bring  good  stock;  and  with  good  horses  and  a  good 
road,  communication  between  distant  neighbors  is  easy;  intercourse  between 
communities  is  established;  social  enjoyment  is  complete. 

Good  roads  greatly  increase  school  attendance;  therefore,  better  school 
buildings  and  more  of  them  are  demanded  and  are  built  along  the  safe  and 
inviting  highway. 

Good  roads  enable  the  rural  populations  to  regularly  attend  the  country, 
village,  or  city  churches.  More  and  better  churches  are  built  in  the  rural 
districts  along  the  good  road;  and  these  churches  cement  the  community, 
elevate  it,  and  add  immensely  to  the  social  conditions. 

Good  roads,  more  than  anything  else,  in  rural  districts,  increase  land  values. 
They  increase  the  demand  for  real  estate.  They  make  investments  in  land 
secure.  They  justify  and  encourage  rural  development.  They  draw  families 
from  the  nearby  congested  cities  or  towns,  and  such  people  build  handsome 
homes,  adding  to  the  attractions  of  the  neighborhood. 

Good  roads  shorten  the  distance,  computed  by  time,  between  the  farm  and 
the  railway,  can  be  traversed  at  all  times  and  in  all  seasons  by  heavy  teams 
with  full  loads,  facilitating  the  movement  of  crops  to  an  incalculable  extent 
and  minimizing  the  cost  of  hauling  market  products.  The  cost  of  living  in 
the  market  town  is  reduced  in  proportion,  and  this  becomes  a  factor  in  secur¬ 
ing  additions  to  its  population. 

Good  roads  carry  more  freight  than  bad  roads  to  the  railroad,  increasing  its 
revenue  and  thereby  enabling  it  to  give  better  facilities  to  that  section.  With 
good  railway  service,  towns  expand  and  industries  multiply,  with  a  correspond¬ 
ing  increase  in  the  demand  for  outside  labor. 

Now,  my  personal  experience  with  the  desirable  class  of  immigrants,  during 
the  many  years  of  my  service  in  promoting  the  settlement  of  such  people  is, 
invariably,  that  the  new  location  must  offer  advantages  sufficient  to  justify 
them  in  the  breaking  up  of  their  homes  and  the  expense  of  moving  into  a 
strange  region  and  there  building  anew.  Not  only  are  soils  and  climate  de¬ 
manded,  but  good  railroad  facilities,  good  markets,  and  good  communication 
with  neighboring  sections  and  with  a  trading  town.  And  they  want  still  more 
than  that;  good  schools  and  churches,  and  convenient  access  to  them.  The 
right  classes  have  been  accustomed  to  them;  and  will  seek  only  such  locations 
as  have  them.  Those  who  would  select  a  region  where  conditions  are  stagnant, 
because  there  is  no  civic  pride  and  no  disposition  toward  progress,  are  few. 
Such  districts  are  avoided  by  the  very  people  they  most  need.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  enterprising  and  progressive  element  searches  out  those  localities 
where  conditions  are  better  than  in  his  old  environments.  He  may  not  even 
have  contemplated  a  change  of  location;  but  learns  from  some  source  that  a 
certain  section  in  another  part  of  the  country  has,  in  addition  to  natural  ad¬ 
vantages,  enterprising  people,  efficient  railway  service,  public  improvements, 
a  beautiful  countryside,  good  turnpikes,  delightful  homes  where  contentment 
reigns,  fine  road  stock,  good  schools,  and  convenient  churches.  These  are 
superlative  inducements,  and  he  contrasts  them  with  the  unfavorable  condi¬ 
tions  that  surround  him.  He  is  a  prospective  settler;  and  when  he  drives 
over  the  course,  the  scene  decides  him.  The  good  road  has  brought  a  good 


28 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


citizen — and  it  will  keep  him.  The  result  has  been  indirect,  but  it  is  a  resuit. 
And  because  good  roads  create  good  conditions,  afford  better  opportunities, 
increase  the  farmers’  gains,  conduce  to  comfort,  and  add  to  social  enjoyment, 
make  intercourse  between  families  and  between  farm  and  town,  encourage 
home-building,  promote  education,  and  enhance  land  values,  the  influence  of 
good  roads  in  attracting  immigration  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other,  yes, 
than  all  other  local  factors  combined. 

In  closing,  permit  me — as  a  friend  of  the  South  and  a  well-wisher  toward  all 
its  people — to  advise  every  taxpayer  to  support  to  the  fullest  extent  any  move¬ 
ment  that  will  bring  about  an  improvement  of  the  public  highways;  to  bear 
in  mind  that  every  dollar  they  expend,  every  effort  they  make,  in  behalf  of 
good  roads  in  their  respective  sections  is  an  investment  and  not  a  donation; 
that  the  returns  will  be  immediate  and  ample;  that  good  roads  builded  by  the 
fathers  are  rich  inheritances  transmitted  to  their  children,  and  monuments  to 
their  wise  forethought  and  their  generous  consideration  of  their  posterity. 


WHY  DO  WE  WANT  GOOD  ROADS? 


From  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Office  of  Public  Roads  and  Rural 

Engineering,  Washington,  D.  C. 


It  hardly  seems  necessary  to  tell  people  why  we  want  good  roads.  They 
ought  to  know,  and  perhaps  do;  but  whether  they  do  or  not,  they  make  fre¬ 
quent  resort  to  that  old  cry,  “What  was  good  enough  for  father  is  good 
enough  for  us.”  This  is  the  reason  of  the  lazy  man,  the  short-sighted  man, 
who  is  content  with  existence  in  this  age  of  improvement  and  progress  along 
every  line.  If  our  forefathers  had  taken  that  attitude,  if  they  had  not  seen 
the  need  of  some  better  means  of  communication  than  the  old  forest  trails 
and  river  routes,  we  would  still  be  following  them.  But  they  sought  the 
quickest  methods  to  advance  their  commerce,  to  keep  up  with  the  best  ideas 
of  the  world,  and  profit  by  them  in  their  own  home  life;  in  short;  to  bring 
the  outside  world  closer  to  them.  They  have  been  quick  to  see  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  the  railroad,  the  steamship,  the  telegraph  and  telephone,  and  to  pro¬ 
mote  all  space-killing,  time-saving  methods  of  communication  as  soon  as 
offered.  But  in  doing  all  this  they  left  the  old  roads  little  better  than  widened 
trails.  Like  the  old  man  in  his  search  for  gold,  they  neglected  to  look  around 
their  own  front  doors,  and  seemed  to  forget  that  the  roads  nearest  home  were 
nearest  their  pocketbooks,  that  it  was  over  these  roads  they  must  earn  their 
bread  and  butter,  and  take  bread  and  butter  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  They 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  without  the  “common  highway  and  the  farm  wagon 
the  railroads  would  have  little  traffic  and  the  steamboats  would  rot  at  the 
wharves.”  Because  of  this  attitude  we  have  a  heritage  in  the  way  of  bad 
roads  that  has  undoubtedly  resulted  in  a  money  loss  to  many  of  you,  owing 
to  inability  to  market  your  crops  on  account  of  such  roads.  Perhaps  some  of 
you  remember  how,  in  1909,  the  Chicago  price  of  wheat  ranged  from  99 14  cents 
to  $1.60  per  bushel,  the  lowest  price  being  reached  in  August  when  the  roads 
were  at  their  best,  while  the  top  prices  were  attained  when  the  roads  were 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


29 


practically  impassable.  In  this  instance  the  farmers  were  shown  that  if  their 
roads  had  been  in  a  condition  all  the  time  to  have  hauled  the  products  to  the 
markets  they  could  have  obtained,  if  not  the  highest  prices,  at  least  a  price 
much  higher  than  the  lowest. 

Take  the  case  of  a  farmer  in  Sullivan  County,  Tennessee,  who  lived  only 
a  few  miles  from  town.  During  the  winter  before  his  county  passed  the  bond 
issue  for  road  improvement,  the  roads  were  so  bad  he  was  compelled  to  let  100 
bushels  of  Irish  potatoes  rot  in  his  cellar,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  potatoes 
were  selling  then  on  the  Bristol  market  for  $1.40  per  bushel.  He  afterwards 
learned  that  the  commission  man  had  been  shipping  potatoes  all  the  way  from 
the  State  of  Michigan.  A  merchant  there  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
about  ten  carloads  of  northern  and  western  corn,  wheat,  oats,  hay,  potatoes, 
etc.,  were  shipped  in  from  outside.  Another  farmer  in  that  same  county  tried 
to  haul  2,000  pounds  of  barbed  wire  from  Bristol  to  Kingsport,  a  distance  of 
23  miles.  The  load  for  a  two-horse  team  consisted  of  500  pounds,  and  the 
farmer  stated  that  three  days  were  required  to  make  the  round  trip.  Twelve 
days  were  consumed,  therefore,  in  hauling  2,000  pounds  of  barbed  wire  from 
Bristol  to  Kingsport.  Estimating  the  cost  of  man  and  team  at  $3  per  day, 
the  total  estimated  cost  of  delivering  the  barbed  wire  was  $36.  On  the  new 
road  from  Bristol  to  Kingsport,  2,000  pounds  can  easily  be  hauled  in  one  day 
with  the  same  team  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $6.  While  this  may  be  an  excep¬ 
tional  case,  it  clearly  shows  that  “time  as  well  as  quantity  should  be  taken 
into  account  as  an  important  factor  in  figuring  the  cost  of  hauling.”  Some 
countries  designate  the  length  of  the  road  by  the  time  it  takes  to  travel  it. 
A  team  of  horses  struggling  along  a  mud  road  in  the  endeavor  to  draw  half 
a  load  affords  a  striking  object  lesson,  when  compared  to  a  team  drawing  a 
heavily  loaded  wagon  at  a  comfortable  trot  along  a  stone-surfaced  highway, 
or  even  a  good  sand-clay  or  gravel  road.  Multiply  this  pitiable  picture  by 
about  3,000,000,  and  you  will  then  have  some  idea  of  the  terrific  effect  bad 
roads  have  upon  the  traffic  of  the  United  States.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
people  of  this  country  annually  waste  $250,000,000  because  of  bad  roads.  In 
other  words,  that  is  their  “mud  tax.”  In  1906,  through  an  investigation  con¬ 
ducted  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Statistics,  it  was  found  that  the  aver¬ 
age  cost  of  hauling  on  roads  in  the  United  States  was  23  cents  per  ton,  the 
average  length  of  haul  being  9.4  miles.  It  costs  the  farmer  more  to  haul  a 
bushel  of  wheat  9.4  miles,  from  his  farm  to  the  railroad  station,  than  it  costs 
to  ship  it  from  New  York  to  Liverpool,  a  distance  of  3,100  miles.  Is  this  cost 
really  necessary?  The  expense  of  hauling  in  Europe  might  give  us  some 
answer  to  this  question.  Our  consuls  report  that  the  average  cost  of  hauling 
in  France,  England,  and  Germany  is  about  10  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  If  the 
farmers  of  this  country  could  reduce  the  cost  of  hauling  to  one-half  the  pres¬ 
ent  average,  or  11%  cents  a  ton,  they  would  save  that  $250,000,000  which  now 
represents  their  mud  tax. 

In  addition  to  the  high  cost  of  hauling,  bad  roads  place  a  limit  upon  the 
variety  of  crops  which  the  farmer  can  raise.  Such  farm  products  as  berries, 
vegetables  and  green  stuffs  from  the  truck  garden,  milk  and  cream  depend 
upon  good  roads  for  their  successful  transportation.  Over  a  long,  bad  haul 
they  are  ruined  before  reaching  the  market.  With  good  roads,  however, 
the  farmer  can  bring  these  in  and  find  a  ready  market  for  them  at  a  much 
larger  profit  per  acre  than  is  usual  with  the  cereal  crops  which  are  safest  to 
handle  on  a  bad  road.  He  would  also  be  encouraged  to  cultivate  a  much 


3C 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


larger  area,  if  he  felt  sure  that  he  could  safely  get  his  crop  to  town  and  not 
lose,  say,  half  the  profit  on  this  berry  crop  because  he  was  unable  to  get  them 
to  market  in  decent  condition,  or  because  they  were  ripening  faster  than  he 
could  haul  them.  But,  because  these  bad  roads  are  a  veritable  wall  of  China 
between  him  and  the  successful  sale  of  his  crops,  he  allows  many  acres  near 
him  to  lie  uncultivated  and  profitless.  This  point  is  very  well  illustrated  by 
assuming  a  series  of  concentric  circles  to  be  drawn  about  a  market  town  or 
railroad  station,  constituting  zones  of  production,  in  all  of  which  the  roads 
are  uniformly  bad. 

Within  the  first  zone,  all  products  can  be  delivered  to  market  at  a  profit. 
Within  the  second  zone,  certain  products  must  be  eliminated  because  of  the 
length  of  haul.  Milk,  small  fruits,  and  certain  kinds  of  vegetables  requiring 
quick  delivery  and  careful  transportation  might  be  cited  as  examples.  In  the 
third  zone  still  other  products  must  be  eliminated  because  of  the  prohibitive 
cost  of  hauling.  The  fourth  zone  will  include  only  those  products  which  can 
be  held  until  the  roads  are  passable  and  then  hauled  long  distances  and  still 
sold  at  a  profit.  Beyond  this  zone  the  land  must  be  left  unproductive  or 
utilized  for  grazing  and  timber.  Every  improvement  in  the  roads  leading 
from  this  market  widens  these  zones,  makes  unproductive  land  productive,  and 
enables  the  farmer  to  exercise  a  wider  discretion  in  determining  the  character 
of  his  crops.  The  individual  farmer  is  more  prosperous,  railroad  traffic  in¬ 
creases,  and  the  consumer  receives  far  better  supplies  for  the  value  of  his 
money.  And  while  speaking  of  crops,  let  me  remind  you  that  in  neglecting 
your  roads  you  are  doing  that  which  seriously  hinders  the  development  of  a 
crop  most  important,  not  only  to  the  farmer,  but  to  the  nation  at  large,  a  flock 
of  intelligent,  rosy-cheeked  children.  Don’t  forget  their  welfare;  it  means 
more  than  a  “bumper  wheat  crop.” 

If  you  have  ever  lived  in  a  locality  where  the  roads  have  been  improved 
you  have  undoubtedly  noted  how  property  values  increased.  To  cite  just  one 
instance  out  of  many  that  have  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Office  of 
Public  Roads,  take  the  Williamsburg  and  Jamestown  road,  built  in  Virginia 
under  the  direction  of  the  office  in  1907.  This  road  extends  from  Williams¬ 
burg  to  Jamestown  Island  and  is  part  macadam  and  part  sand-clay.  After  its 
construction  a  farm  with  a  good  standing  of  timber,  offered  before  the  road 
was  built  for  $4,500  without  a  taker,  was  sold  soon  after  the  road  was  com¬ 
pleted  for  $8,000.  Since  then  the  owners  have  been  hauling  1,800  to  2,000  feet 
of  lumber  with  two  mules,  where  before  it  was  impossible  to  haul  more  than 
600  feet.  Another  tract  of  land  of  205  acres,  of  which  100  acres  were  in  tim¬ 
ber,  was  sold  before  the  road  was  built  for  $4,000,  and  since  the  road  was^built 
the  standing  timber  alone  was  sold  for  $3,500. 

In  short,  improve  your  road  and  your  farm  will  sell  for  more  money,  or, 
if  you  do  not  want  to  sell  it,  then  it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  live  on  it,  which  will 
be  the  best  thing  that  could  happen.  How  to  stop  the  ceaseless  flow  of  popu¬ 
lation  to  the  city  from  the  farm  has  been  a  problem  of  serious  worry  to  our 
country.  They  realize  it  is  not  the  money  question,  for  many  of  those  who 
drift  to  the  cities  prefer  poverty  there  to  the  farm  with  its  loneliness.  In  the 
report  of  the  Commission  on  Country  Life  it  is  shown  conclusively  that  be¬ 
cause  of  the  isolation  and  deadly  monotony  so  prevalent  in  the  country,  farm 
life  has  become  intolerable,  at  least  for  the  women  and  young  people,  and  as 
it  is  they  who  make  the  man’s  home,  their  needs  must  be  considered.  The 
farmer  has  not  seemed  to  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  he  might  bring  some  of 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


31 


life  s  comforts  into  his  home,  while  as  for  pleasant  neighborhood  gatherings, 
they  are  almost  impossible.  With  bad  roads  he  has  all  he  can  do  to  take  the 
crops  to  town,  without  bringing  back  a  load  of  things  that  they  can  do  without. 
No  sense  in  bringing  music  into  the  home;  the  child  couldn’t  get  to  town  to 
take  lessons.  Then  it's  too  hard  on  the  horses  to  pull  through  the  mud  or 
over  the  hill  at  night  to  a  neighbor’s  after  working  all  day.  A  large  number 
of  our  people  are,  therefore,  isolated  from  the  outside  world  during  those 
seasons  when  the  roads  are  at  their  worst.  “A  mud  embargo”  cuts  them  off 
from  many  of  the  advantages  which  our  modern  civilization  offers.  Discon¬ 
tent  comes  with  a  continued  deprivation  of  those  privileges,  and  with  discon¬ 
tent  the  abandonment  of  many  farms  throughout  the  country.  It  must  be 
seen  this  condition  would  be  much  improved  by  better  roads.  You  may  trace 
the  lack  of  comforts  and  even  necessities  of  life  in  many  country  homes  di¬ 
rectly  to  bad  roads.  The  farmer  is  unable  to  market  his  products  to  advan¬ 
tage  when  he  has  to  haul  them  through  miles  of  muddy  roads.  It  so  often 
costs  him  more  in  time  and  effort  than  he  is  able  to  obtain  in  dollars  and 
cents  that  he  finally  contents  himself  with  raising  only  enough  for  his  own 
use,  and  wife  and  children  must  suffer  in  the  end  for  lack  of  comforts  which 
he  is  unable  to  purchase.  No  matter  how  isolated  the  farm  may  be,  or  how 
bad  the  roads  may  become,  a  man  will  manage  to  get  out  in  spite  of  those 
difficulties  and  go,  perhaps,  horseback  or  even  walking  to  the  country  store, 
the  blacksmith  shop,  or  on  an  errand  to  a  neighbor’s.  Then,  after  swapping 
the  news  of  the  day  with  the  neighbors  he  meets,  he  comes  home,  perhaps  to  a 
good  meal,  and  retires  early.  His  wife  may  want  to  go  to  the  meeting  at  the 
country  school,  where  she  would  have  a  chance  to  meet  some  of  the  other 
farmers’  wives  and  enjoy  a  little  change  of  scene  and  thought,  but  with  roads 
so  bad  that  she  can’t  take  the  already  exhausted  horses  over  them  again, 
much  less  walk  there,  she  gives  up,  and  so  their  plan  for  a  little  meeting 
failed,  because  the  other  farmers’  wives  were  in  the  same  plight.  The  hus¬ 
band  has  been  out  in  the  open  all  day,  busy  with  healthy  work,  and  none  of 
the  nagging  details  to  bother  his  brain,  such  as  his  wife  has  met  during  the 
long  day.  But  she  is  penned  up,  with  the  same  monotonous  round  of  duties 
and  no  hope  of  change  from  one  Sunday  till  the  next,  and  not  even  then,  if 
the  roads  keep  her  from  church  also.  She  cannot  keep  a  servant  to  help  her, 
as  they  refuse  to  be  shut  up  week  after  week  away  from  the  world.  Experts 
on  the  diseases  of  the  mind  claim  that  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  in¬ 
mates  of  insane  asylums  are  women,  the  wives  or  servants  of  farmers,  who 
have  been  driven  to  despair  by  the  unbroken  monotony  of  their  lives.  Is  it 
any  wonder  the  women  and  children  hate  the  farm  and  would  seek  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  city  life?  I  cannot  help  but  recall  here  a  story  of  a  farmer  whose 
wife  had  recently  become  insane.  In  discussing  the  trouble  with  his  doctor, 
the  old  farmer  said  he  couldn’t  for  the  world  see  why  Maria  had  gone  crazy, 
she  hadn’t  had  a  thing  to  distract  her  attention,  she  hadn’t  been  out  of  the 
kitchen  for  eighteen  years. 

And  yet,  with  good  roads,  some  of  the  advantages  of  the  city  can  be  brought 
to  the  country.  Rural  delivery  is  made  possible  in  a  region  of  decent  roads, 
social  gatherings  become  more  frequent,  and  doubly  pleasant  because  of  the 
enjoyable  drive  to  and  from  the  place.  You  have  doubtless  heard  the  story 
of  the  young  woman  who  was  returning  home  from  the  country  church  with 
her  friend.  He  was  so  busy  managing  the  horses  over  the  rough,  bumpy  road 
that  he  paid  no  attention  to  her.  She  became  more  and  more  indignant,  and 


32 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


at  last  exclaimed,  “Nobody  loves  me  and  my  hands  are  cold.”  At  that  instant 
they  went  over  a  terrific  bump  and  these  words  were  jerked  from  him,  “Well, 
God  loves  you,  and  I  guess  you’ll  have  to  sit  on  your  hands.” 

Then,  too,  the  doctor  can  reach  the  farm  more  readily  in  case  of  sickness. 
That  roads  have  a  direct  bearing  on  public  health  is  quite  obvious  to  any 
thoughtful  observer,  but  the  general  public  seems  to  have  overlooked  that 
fact.  While  figures  and  statistics  can  scarcely  be  given  in  this  connection, 
observation  will  corroborate  the  statement  that  many  an  infant  has  been 
sacrificed  at  birth,  owing  to  the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  doctor  in  reach¬ 
ing  the  farm  at  the  proper  time.  Every  country  doctor  is  an  earnest  advo¬ 
cate  of  road  improvement,  since  he  knows  better  than  anyone  else  the  direct 
bearing  that  the  condition  of  the  roads  has  upon  his  ability  to  render  the  aid 
it  is  his  business  to  furnish. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  public  road  is  the  main  dust  factory  of  the  nation, 
and  any  thoughtful  person  can  readily  see  the  truth  of  the  statement.  The 
public  road,  by  means  of  its  very  active  and  ever-willing  agents,  dust  and 
poor  drainage,  is  continually  spreading  disease,  especially  tuberculosis  and 
typhoid.  Hence,  this  phase  of  the  subject  should  not  be  forgotten  in  any 
sincere  inquiry  into  the  reasons  for  systematic  road  improvement. 

The  health  of  the  country  school  child  has  often  been  seriously  affected  by 
the  condition  of  the  road  over  which  he  must  travel.  The  roads  are  wet  and 
muddy  almost  all  of  the  long,  cold  winter  months.  The  bleak  winds  are 
merciless  in  their  attacks  upon  him,  especially  in  open  country,  so  that  by 
the  time  the  child  reaches  the  schoolhouse,  very  often  a  poor  affair,  with  little 
or  no  ventilation  and  not  much  heat,  he  is  so  chilled  and  exhausted  that  he 
is  rendered  unfit  for  either  study  or  recreation.  People  argue,  “Oh,  well,  it 
won’t  hurt  him;  it  will  make  a  man  of  him.”  Possibly  so,  if  he  doesn’t  join 
the  angels  first.  Such  a  condition,  continued  day  after  day,  does  not  tend  to 
build  up  a  child’s  constitution,  and  he  is  rendered  quite  fit  for  the  attacks  of 
the  usual  damp  and  cold  weather  germs,  grip,  pneumonia,  etc.  Then,  too, 
these  bad  roads  cause  such  irregular  attendance,  besides  increasing  the  child’s 
horror  of  school.  Parents  sometimes  keep  their  children  at  home  rather  than 
have  them  subjected  to  such  conditions,  arguing  that  the  injurious  effect  upon 
the  body  from  exposure  is  greater  than  any  good  effect  of  education  upon  the 
mind.  Furthermore,  many  country  schools  are  closed  during  the  worst  of  the 
winter  months  on  account  of  impassable  roads,  while  those  which  are  not 
closed  have  a  very  poor  average  attendance. 

According  to  the  reports  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  in  1911  there 
were  27,750,000  children  in  the  United  States  of  school  age,  but  only  17,500,000 
were  enrolled  in  the  public  schools,  or  about  63  per  cent.  Of  the  6,000,000 
children,  then,  who  are  not  attending  school  from  some  reason  or  other,  there 
is  little  doubt  that  a  large  number  of  these  are  prevented  from  attending  on 
account  of  bad  roads.  In  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Ohio, 
and  Indiana,  the  states  which  have  a  large  mileage  of  improved  roads,  the 
average  attendance  of  enrolled  pupils  in  1908-9  was  80  per  cent.  In  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Arkansas,  South  Dakota,  and  Georgia,  states  noted  for  bad  roads, 
the  average  attendance  for  the  same  year  was  64  per  cent — 80  per  cent  in  the 
good-roads  states  as  against  64  per  cent  in  the  bad-roads  states.  In  the  states 
first  named,  35  per  cent  of  the  roads  have  been  improved,  while  in  the  latter 
group  of  states  there  are  only  ly2  per  cent  of  the  roads  improved.  This  rela¬ 
tion  between  illiteracy  and  bad  roads  is  also  brought  out  in  data  obtained 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


33 


from  the  twelfth  census  of  the  United  States.  Of  course  other  factors  combine 
to  produce  illiteracy,  but  it  seems  rather  significant  that  where  you  find 
illiteracy  you  usually  do  not  find  good  roads.  In  four  states,  where  less  than 
2  per  cent  of  the  roads  are  improved,  there  were  374,788  native-born  white 
illiterates  in  1900,  or  4.8  per  cent  out  of  a  total  population  of  7,800,000; 
whereas,  in  four  other  states,  where  30  per  cent  of  the  roads  are  improved, 
there  were  only  20,500  native-born  white  illiterates  in  1900,  or  about  0.35  of  1 
per  cent  out  of  a  total  population  of  6,025,000. 

In  several  of  these  good-road  states  the  improved  travel  has  made  it  possible 
to  consolidate  the  schools  and  to  establish  graded  schools  in  the  rural  districts. 
The  one-room,  one-teacher  schools  are  being  replaced  by  central  schoolhouses, 
with  half  a  dozen  rooms  and  as  many  teachers.  Wagons  are  sent  out  every 
day  to  gather  up  the  children  and  to  take  them  home  again  in  the  evening. 
All  of  the  children  within  a  radius  of  four  or  five  miles  are  thus  provided 
with  the  most  modern  school  facilities.  In  some  of  these  schools,  courses  in 
manual  training,  agriculture,  and  home  economics  have  been  introduced, 
scientific  apparatus  utilized,  and  teachers  having  special  qualifications  and 
training  employed.  This  has  been  done  at  a  minimum  cost. 

For  instance,  in  Durham  County,  N.  C.,  which  has  18.54  per  cent  of  its  roads 
macadamized,  the  number  of  schools  prior  to  the  road  improvement  were  66, 
which  were  located  indiscriminately  throughout  the  county.  Since  the  im¬ 
provement  of  the  roads  the  number  of  schools  has  been  reduced  to  44,  about 
two-thirds  of  them  being  large,  centrally  located  school  buildings,  accommo¬ 
dating  the  children  from  a  larger  area  and  being  accessible  to  them  practically 
every  day  in  the  school  year.  In  contrast  with  this,  it  is  the  practice  in  sev¬ 
eral  Virginia  counties  to  open  school  in  August  and  close  in  December  in 
order  that  the  winter  months  may  be  avoided. 

At  present  there  are  about  2,000  of  these  consolidated  rural  schools  in  the 
United  States.  Massachusetts,  Ohio,  and  Indiana  seem  to  have  made  the  greatest 
progress  along  these  lines,  and  it  is  rather  significant  to  note  that  in  these 
States  about  one-third  of  the  roads  have  been  improved.  In  1899,  Massachu¬ 
setts  reported  having  spent  $22,116  to  convey  pupils  to  the  consolidated 
schools,  but  ten  years  later  this  sum  was  $292,213;  while  Indiana  spent 
$86,000  in  1904  for  this  purpose,  and  $290,000  in  1908.  These  transportation 
expenses  would  tend  to  show  the  extent  and  success  of  this  new  educational 
movement.  “It  has  not  proved  itself  an  additional  burden,  for  with  the  de¬ 
crease  in  the  number  of  schools  and  in  the  economy  of  operation  it  has  been 
found  to  cost  less  proportionally  to  build,  equip  and  operate  these  consoli¬ 
dated  schools  than  the  one-room,  one-teacher  variety.”  The  average  annual 
cost  per  pupil  for  45  consolidated  schools  located  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  in  1907  was  $33.83,  but  taking  Hardin  County,  Iowa,  as  an  example 
of  the  district  school  system,  the  average  cost  per  pupil  was  $40.78  for  the  15 
district  schools.  Moreover,  the  average  daily  attendance  at  the  consolidated 
schools  was  139,  while  the  average  daily  attendance  at  the  district  schools  was 
only  6.  The  advantages  of  this  new  system  of  education  are  quite  apparent, 
but  bad  roads  establish  a  very  effective  obstacle  in  the  way  of  its  adoption. 
The  surest  way,  then,  to  break  up  this  combination  ot  bad  loads  and  poor 
schools  is  to  start  in  with  the  crusade  for  better  roads,  and  then  only  will  the 
country  child  begin  to  have  an  educational  chance  more  nearly  compaiable 

with  that  of  the  city  child.  . 

If  the  crusade  is  to  be  successful,  where  better  can  it  be  carried  on  than 


34 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


with  the  child  in  the  school,  and  with  the  mother  in  her  women’s  clubs?  Each 
mother  and  each  child  should  study  the  subject  and  be  helped  to  an  under¬ 
standing  of  what  good  roads  will  do  for  them,  and  what  they  can  do  for  good 
roads.  If  each  and  every  child,  girl  or  boy,  could  grow  up  with  the  idea  that 
they  need  not  tolerate  bad,  muddy  roads,  and  if,  along  with  this  intolerance, 
they  could  be  given  clear,  sensible  ideas  in  regard  to  road  building,  road 
maintenance,  the  planting  of  trees  and  shrubs  along  the  roadside,  and  the 
management  of  road  finances,  then  the  success  of  the  good-roads  campaign 
would  be  assured.  For  the  child  is  father  to  the  man. 


THE  HIGH  COST  OF  HAULING 

It  Costs  More  to  Carry  the  Farmer’s  Wheat  to  Market  Than  it  Hoes  to  Ship  it 
From  New  York  to  Liverpool.  Wliy?  Had  Hoads 

By  Logan  Waller  Page,  Director,  United  States  Office  of  Public  Roads. 


It  costs  the  farmer  who  lives  nine  and  one-half  miles  from  the  railroad, 
over  which  he  ships  his  products,  more  money  to  haul  a  bushel  of  wheat  that 
nine  and  one-half  miles  than  it  costs  the  buyer  to  ship  that  bushel  of  wheat 
from  New  York  to  Liverpool,  England.  To  be  exact,  it  costs  the  farmer  just 
one  and  one-sixth  cents  more.  Something  is  wrong.  It  is  the  roads. 

Before  the  railroads  were  built  the  cost  of  hauling  over  the  country  roads 
was  high.  But  since  the  railroads  were  built — counting  back  sixty-eight  years 
for  the  sake  of  comparison — hauling  over  the  railroads  has  been  cut  to  about 
one-ninth  of  the  original  cost — from  seven  and  one-third  cents  a  ton  a  mile 
in  1837,  to  seven  and  eight-tenths  mills  in  1905,  or  about  one-ninth  as  much. 
But  the  cost  of  hauling  on  the  country  roads  has  gone  up.  Seventy  years 
ago,  on  the  old  Cumberland  pike,  it  cost  seventeen  cents  to  haul  a  ton  a  mile, 
and  this  allowed  a  profit.  Today,  the  average  cost  of  road  hauling  a  ton  a 
mile  is  about  twenty-three  cents. 

If  the  cost  of  hauling  in  this  country  can  be  reduced  to  one-half  the  present 
cost,  or  eleven  and  one-half  cents  a  ton,  the  saving  to  the  people  will  be  two 
hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  a  year.  If  wise  and  equitable  road  laws 
and  good  business  management  could  be  substituted  for  the  present  anti¬ 
quated  and  wasteful  system  of  handling  our  roads,  there  could  be  an  addi¬ 
tional  saving  of  forty  millions  of  dollars.  So  it  is  apparent  that  in  the  two 
single  items  of  hauling  and  road  administration  the  people  of  this  country 
have  it  within  their  power  to  save  themselves  two  hundred  and  ninety  mil¬ 
lions  of  dollars  a  year. 

The  reports  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  show  that  the  railroads 
handle  upwards  of  900,000,000  tons  of  freight  originating  on  their  respective 
lines  each  year.  Of  this  amount,  agricultural,  forest,  and  miscellaneous 
products  constitute  about  32  per  cent,  or  approximately  275,000,000  tons.  If 
we  assume  that  200,000,000  tons,  or  less  than  73  per  cent  of  this  total,  were 
hauled  over  the  country  roads,  the  cost,  at  23  cents  on  an  average  haul  of  9.4 
miles,  would  be  $432,400,000.  To  this  must  be  added  the  enormous  tonnage 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


35 


hauled  from  farms  to  canals,  wharves,  and  docks  for  shipment  by  water.  If 
the  cost  of  this  hauling  is  placed  at  only  $67,500,000,  the  total  would  reach 
the  sum  of  half  a  billion  dollars  annually,  and  this  does  not  include  the 
products  hauled  back  and  forth  between  farms  and  mills.  To  meet  the  possi¬ 
ble  contention  that  this  is  a  high  estimate  of  the  agricultural,  forest,  and 
miscellaneous  products  hauled  by  wagon,  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
many  million  tons  of  mining  products  are  hauled  by  wagon,  but  these  are 
not  considered  in  this  estimate. 

The  high  cost  of  hauling  is  not  the  only  burden  which  the  American  people 
aie  carrying  by  reason  of  their  bad  roads.  In  traversing  a  country  isolated 
from  markets  by  reason  of  bad  roads,  one  is  struck  by  the  waste  in  untilled 
land  and  by  the  lack  of  variety  in  the  products.  This  is  due  more  frequently 
to  lack  of  adequate  transportation  facilities  than  to  the  lack  of  industry  and 
intelligence. 

Draw  a  series  of  concentric  circles  about  a  market  town  or  railroad  station. 
Call  these  zones  of  production,”  in  all  of  which  the  roads  are  uniformly  bad. 
Within  the  first  zone  all  products  can  be  delivered  to  market  at  a  profit. 
Within  the  second  zone  certain  products  must  be  eliminated  because  of  the 
length  of  the  haul.  In  the  third  zone  still  other  products  must  be  eliminated 
because  of  the  prohibitive  cost  of  hauling.  The  fourth  zone  includes  only 
those  products  which  can  be  held  until  the  roads  are  passable,  and  then 
hauled  long  distances  and  sold  at  a  profit.  Beyond  this  zone  the  land  must 
be  left  unproductive  or  utilized  for  grazing  and  timber. 

GOOD  ROADS - BETTER  FARMS. 

Every  improvement  in  the  roads  leading  from  this  market  widens  these 
zones,  makes  unproductive  lands  productive,  and  enables  the  farmer  to  exer¬ 
cise  a  wider  discretion  in  determining  the  character  of  his  crops.  The  pros¬ 
perity  of  the  individual  farmer  becomes  far  greater,  the  traffic  of  the  railroad 
increases,  the  consumer  receives  better  supplies  at  lower  prices,  and  thus  the 
beneficial  effects  continue  in  an  ever-widening  circle,  like  the  ripple  produced 
by  a  stone  cast  into  the  water. 

There  are  over  400,000,000  acres  of  uncultivated  land  in  the  United  States. 
Improved  roads  will  prove  an  important  factor  in  developing  this  great  do¬ 
main.  The  tiller  of  the  soil  finds  golden  possibilities  as  soon  as  he  is  brought 
into  touch  with  the  markets  and  can  practice  intensive  farming  successfully. 
Census  reports  say  the  average  value  an  acre  of  vegetables  produced  in  the 
United  States  in  1899  was  $42.00  and  of  small  fruits  $80.80.  The  average 
value  of  corn  was  only  $8.72,  wheat  $7.03,  and  oats  $7.34  an  acre.  The 
meaning  of  these  figures  is  recognized  by  intelligent  farmers  who  are  studying 
the  problem  of  how  to  make  their  farms  pay  best,  and  it  is  only  a  step  further 
for  them  to  recognize  that  good  roads  are  necessary  to  the  complete  working 
out  of  this  problem. 

It  is  impossible  to  tell  in  exact  figures  just  how  much  good  roads  increase 
land  values,  but  it  is  generally  believed  that  the  average  increase  within  the 
zone  of  influence  of  an  improved  road  is  from  two  to  nine  dollars  to  the  acre. 
As  there  are  about  850,000,000  acres  of  farm  lands,  improved  and  unimproved, 
in  the  United  States,  the  possibilities  of  increases  in  values  through  road  im¬ 
provements  are  enormous. 

In  counties  where  there  are  first-class  roads  the  population  has  increased 
in  almost  every  case.  The  sections  of  country  which  have  lost  in  population 


36 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


are  conspicuous  for  impassable  roads.  Here  is  an  example:  In  twenty-five 
counties,  selected  at  random,  in  which  an  average  of  only  one  and  a  half  per 
cent  of  the  roads  were  improved,  the  population,  between  1890  and  1900,  fell 
away  over  3,000  persons  in  each  county.  In  another  twenty-five  counties, 
selected  at  random,  but  in  which  there  was  an  average  of  forty  per  cent  of 
improved  roads,  the  population  in  each  county  increased  over  31,000. 

Whether  good  roads  cause  good  schools,  or  vice  versa,  it  is  true  that  they 
exist  together,  and  that  one  of  the  most  important  reasons  for  good  roads  is 
their  effect  on  school  attendance  in  the  country.  If  the  country  schools  are 
to  do  their  best  work  in  training  and  instruction,  the  children  must  be 
afforded  facilities  for  reaching  the  schools  with  dry  feet  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.  The  possibilities  of  a  region  of  improved  roads  are  seen  in  the  school 
wagons  regularly  gathering  up  the  pupils  and  hauling  them  to  and  from  the 
graded  school,  which,  through  good  roads,  is  replacing  the  little  one-room, 
one-teacher  schools  so  prevalent  in  many  sections  of  the  country.  When  the 
roads  are  put  into  such  condition  as  to  make  this  practice  general,  education 
in  the  United  States  will  have  received  tremendous  impetus. 

In  the  five  states  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Ohio  and 
Indiana,  in  which,  in  1904,  34.92  per  cent  of  the  roads  were  improved,  seventy- 
seven  out  of  each  one  hundred  pupils  enrolled  attended  public  schools  regu¬ 
larly.  In  the  five  states  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Arkansas,  Georgia  and  South 
Dakota,  which  had,  in  1904,  only  1.5  per  cent  of  improved  roads,  only  fifty- 
nine  out  of  each  one  hundred  pupils  enrolled  attended  the  public  schools 
regularly. 

But  good  roads  are  on  the  increase.  We  have  176,429.3  miles  of  good  roads 
now,  as  against  156,664.3  in  1904.  Then,  only  7.14  per  cent  of  our  road  mile¬ 
age  could  be  called  “improved.”  Today,  8.2  per  cent  of  the  roads  are  improved. 
In  macadam  roads  there  has  been  an  increase  of  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent 
since  1904;  in  gravel,  of  fifteen  per  cent;  and  in  special  resurfacing  materials, 
of  twenty-five  per  cent.  But  to  do  this  cost  the  people  nearly  $80,000,000, 
which  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  results  accomplished. 

WHY  OUR  ROADS  ARE  BAD 

There  are  three  main  reasons  why  our  roads  are  bad.  First  comes  the 
policy  of  localization,  which  until  the  past  few  years  prevailed  in  all  the 
states.  This  places  upon  the  county  and,  in  most  cases,  upon  the  road  district, 
or  township,  the  entire  burden  of  constructing  and  maintaining  the  roads, 
and  leaves  to  it  the  initiative,  as  well  as  the  final  determination,  of  the  policy 
which  shall  be  pursued  in  carrying  on  the  work.  It  naturally  follows  that 
the  more  progressive  counties  distance  the  less  progressive  counties,  that  the 
undeveloped  sections  of  the  country  have  a  tendency  to  remain  undeveloped, 
and  that  in  the  poorer  counties  the  result  is  stagnation  and  decrease  in 
population. 

The  second  reason  is  that  our  road  laws  generally  disregard  the  necessity 
of  skilled  supervision  in  road  work.  Nine-tenths  of  the  work  is  done  under 
the  direction  of  men  who  have  no  knowledge  of  road  building,  and,  what  is 
worse,  who  have  only  a  passing  interest  in  it. 

The  third  element,  which  alone  would  prove  a  hindrance  to  efficient  work, 
is  that  of  statute  labor,  or  the  method  of  assessing  road  taxes  in  terms  of  day 
labor,  and  of  placing  in  charge  of  road  improvement  an  undisciplined  body 
of  workmen  who  have  no  inclination  to  render  an  adequate  day’s  service, 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


37 


who  have  no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  work,  and  who  frequently  are  unused 
to  manual  labor.  In  practice,  it  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  work¬ 
ing  the  roads  more  frequently  develops  into  a  pastime  than  into  a  real  and 
earnest  endeavor  to  secure  good  results. 

Hoad  building  is  an  art  based  upon  a  science.  In  this  age  of  specialists  it 
almost  surpasses  belief  that  the  American  people,  so  practical  in  all  other 
lines  of  endeavor,  should  permit  their  golden  millions  to  be  frittered  away  by 
men  who  for  the  most  part  know  little  or  nothing  about  either  the  science  or 
the  art  of  road  building.  There  are  today  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
petty  road  officials  in  the  United  States.  Very  few  of  these  men  devote  more 
than  a  fraction  of  their  time  to  road  work,  because  their  interests  lie  else¬ 
where  and  their  compensation  is  too  small  to  enable  them  to  give  their  entire 
time  to  the  work.  It  is  not  surprising  that  a  century  and  a  quarter  of  this 
kind  of  supervision  has  resulted  in  the  present  chaotic  condition  of  our  public 
roads.  The  reforms  that  should  take  place  will  provide  a  comparatively  small 
body  of  trained  and  competent  road  builders  devoting  their  entire  time  to 
continuous  road  work. 

But  the  greatest  element  of  weakness  in  our  road  system  lies  in  our  method 
of  maintenance.  As  a  rule,  we  repair  our  roads  at  such  times  as  farm  work 
will  permit.  This  means  that  the  roads  receive  attention  once  or  twice  a  year. 
So  hard  and  fast  has  this  custom  become  in  many  of  the  states  that,  even  if 
costly  macadam  roads  are  constructed  at  great  expense,  they  are  allowed  to 
go  to  ruin  because  minor  defects  are  permitted  to  go  unrepaired  until  they 
result  in  practical  destruction  of  the  road. 

In  France,  every  mile  of  road  is  inspected  daily,  and  the  slightest  defect 
repaired  at  its  inception.  The  maintenance-of-way  departments  of  our  great 
railroad  systems  do  not  provide  a  more  thorough  inspection  of  railroad  tracks 
than  the  French  do  for  their  public  roads.  The  changes  which  should  come 
in  the  American  system  will  mean  the  adoption  of  a  continuous  system  of 
repair  and  a  methodical  inspection  of  all  roads. 

The  national  government,  through  the  Office  of  Public  Roads  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  is,  by  education,  research,  and  experiment, 
aiding  materially  in  carrying  forward  this  all-important  work.  The  service 
of  its  corps  of  engineers  and  experts  are  given  free  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States. 

A  sign  of  the  awakening  public  interest  in  good  roads  is  the  recent  organi¬ 
zation  of  the  American  Association  for  Highway  Improvement,  with  offices  in 
Washington,  D.  C.  Its  directorate  includes  railroad  presidents,  editors,  law¬ 
yers,  engineers,  college  presidents,  and  prominent  government  officials. 

This  association,  with  the  help  of  many  other  good-roads  organizations,  is 
working  vigorously  to  arouse  public  sentiment  for  road  improvement.  It  is 
suggesting  needed  legislation  for  efficient  road  administration  r.*i  the  classi¬ 
fication  of  all  roads  according  to  traffic  requirements.  The  correlation  of  road 
construction,  so  that  important  roads  of  each  county  shall  connect,  is  another 
of  the  reforms  for  which  the  association  is  striving.  That  this  association 
has  been  formed  strikingly  illustrates  the  almost  universal  appeal  of  the 
movement  for  better  roads. 


38 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS  IN  ROAI)  BUILDING 


By  Hon.  John  H.  Small,  Representative  in  Congress  from  the  First 
Congressional  District  of  North  Carolina. 


Prefacing  my  paper,  it  is  proper  to  say  that  I  shall  make  no  effort  to  indulge 
in  “high-flown”  language,  and  even  if  I  should  do  so,  it  would,  perhaps,  be 
unwise  in  the  discussion  of  so  practical  a  problem  as  that  of  securing  good 
roads.  Sometimes,  in  the  flood  of  words,  ideas  are  either  discolored  or  lost 
in  the  maelstrom.  Perhaps  I  may  have  the  satisfaction  of  bringing  to  the 
public  one  or  more  thoughts  which  may  be  helpful  in  the  wise  solution  of 
this  great  economic  problem.  It  is  a  very  practical  subject  in  all  its  phases, 
and  is  interwoven  with  the  economic  and  industrial  progress  of  our  State. 

This  subject  of  public  roads  is  closely  interwoven  into  the  warp  and  woof 
of  our  economic  life.  As  North  Carolina  is  yet,  in  large  degree,  an  agricul¬ 
tural  State,  I  may  illustrate  best  this  proposition  by  showing  the  important 

• 

relation  which  improved  public  roads  bear  to  agriculture.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  cost  of  hauling  products  over  the  average  country  roads  is  25  cents 
per  ton  per  mile.  Upon  a  first  consideration  this  may  not  appear  to  be  an 
excessive  cost  for  transportation,  and  yet  when  you  consider  that  the  average 
cost  of  movement  over  the  railroads  of  the  country  is  only  about  seven  mills 
per  ton  per  mile,  you  can  see  that  it  costs  about  thirty-five  times  as  much  to 
haul  products  over  the  average  country  roads  as  it  does  upon  an  average  to 
haul  them  over  the  railroads.  We  have  in  the  past,  and  still  are,  exercising 
ourselves  to  obtain  better  freight  rates,  and  to  eliminate  all  descrimination 
as  between  individuals  and  sections,  and  the  wisdom  of  this  agitation  cannot 
be  doubted;  yet  we  only  pay,  upon  an  average,  one-thirtieth  upon  our  railroads 
as  compared  with  the  amount  we  pay  for  transportation  upon  the  average  high¬ 
way.  It  is  estimated  by  one  authority  that  the  average  haul  upon  our  roads 
is  twelve  miles,  and  that  the  average  load  is  two  thousand  pounds,  and,  as 
stated,  the  average  cost  is  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  According  to  the  report 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  in  1906,  the  railroads  handled 
820,164,000  tons  of  freight,  and  of  this  aggregate  that  32  per  cent  consisted 
of  agricultural  and  forest  products,  amounting  to  about  265,000,000  tons.  Of 
this  latter  quantity  it  was  estimated  that  80  per  cent,  or  200,000,000  tons,  was 
hauled  on  the  country  roads,  which,  with  an  average  haul  of  nine  miles  and 
at  an  average  cost  of  35  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  would  make  the  enormous 
sum  of  $432,000,000  per  annum.  The  cost  of  hauling  over  the  improved  roads 
of  Germany,  France  and  England  is  estimated  at  10  cents  per  ton  per  mile. 
The  cost  of  hauling  over  the  dirt  roads  of  the  South,  containing  mud  and  ruts, 
is  39  cents;  over  wet,  sandy  roads,  32  cents,  and  over  dry  sandy  roads,  64 
cents.  If  you  assume  that  the  average  cost  of  hauling  over  the  average 
country  road  is  23  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  and  that  by  improving  the  road  we 
could  reduce  this  cost  by  one-half,  or  lly2  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  it  would 
mean  an  annual  saving  of  $250,000,000.  The  weakest  link  determines  the 
strength  of  the  chain;  the  minimum  depth  of  a  stream  determines  the  draft 
of  vessels  it  can  accommodate,  and  the  worst  portion  of  a  highway  and  the 
most  difficult  grade  determines  the  load  which  can  be  carried  as  between  any 
two  given  points. 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


39 


Here  is  another  illustration  of  the  waste  from  bad  highways.  It  is  esti¬ 
mated  that  the  average  cost  of  hauling  corn  in  the  United  States  is  7  cents 
per  hundred  pounds.  In  North  Carolina  it  has  been  estimated  at  12  cents. 
In  eleven  southern  states  it  was  estimated  at  15  cents  per  hundred  pounds, 
which  is  double  the  average  in  the  United  States.  If  you  estimate  that  one- 
fifth  of  our  corn  crop  is  hauled  over  the  country  roads,  there  could  be  saved 
annually  by  improved  roads  $7,200,000.  As  to  our  cotton  crops,  which  are 
more  largely  hauled  over  the  roads,  first  to  the  gin,  then  from  the  gin  back 
to  the  farm,  and  finally  to  the  market,  it  is  estimated  that  we  could  save 
annually  $4,800,000  on  the  cotton  and  $6,000,000  on  the  cotton  seed. 

In  my  first  consideration  of  this  problem  of  improving  our  reads,  two'  diffi¬ 
culties  presented  themselves  to  my  mind.  One  was  the  great  mileage  of 
roads,  and  the  other  was  in  the  process  of  selecting  those  first  to  be  improved. 
The  total  mileage  and  the  cost  was  so  great  and  the  difficulty  in  selection  so 
embarrassing  that  it  seemed  impossible  to  avoid  friction  and  local  dissensions. 
This  difficulty  is  greatly  minimized  by  the  consideration  of  some  propositions 
fairly  well  established.  It  is  estimated  that  90  per  cent  of  the  traffic  upon  our 
roads  is  carried  upon  20  per  cent  of  the  mileage,  and  therefore  that  when  20 
per  cent  of  the  mileage  was  improved,  that  90  per  cent  of  the  products  to  be 
hauled  would  be  provided  for,  thus  leaving  only  10  per  cent  of  the  traffic 
to  be  provided  for  by  the  reniaining  80  per  cent  of  the  mileage  of  the  public 
roads.  At  the  present  time,  it  is  estimated  that  in  the  south  about  6  per  cent, 
or  42,281  miles,  of  its  roads  have  been  improved.  This  leaves  14  per  cent  of 
this  20  per  cent  of  mileage  unimproved,  or  about  94,756  miles.  To  improve 
this  remaining  mileage  in  order  to  make  up  the  20  per  cent,  at  an  estimated 
cost  of  $2,000  per  mile,  it  would  cost  in  the  aggregate  $189,512,000.  If  we 
apply  the  amount  which  we  would  save  upon  90  per  cent  of  the  traffic  travel¬ 
ing  over  20  per  cent  of  the  roads,  there  would  certainly  be  a  saving  of  ten  to 
eleven  million  dollars,  which  would  more  than  pay  the  annual  interest  upon 
the  total  cost  of  improving  the  remaining  80  per  cent  of  the  public  roads  in 
the  South.  The  principal  of  this  great  sum  could  be  paid  alone  from  the 
increase  in  land  values.  In  the  southern  states  there  are  362,027,852  acres 
of  farm  lands.  There  are  innumerable  instances  where  lands  have  increased 
in  value  from  the  construction  of  good  roads  from  five  to  twenty-five  dollars 
and  more  per  acre.  If  we  estimate  the  average  increased  value  of  our  farm 
lands  by  reason  of  improved  roads  at  five  dollars  per  acre,  then  there  would 
be  a  gain  in  farm  values  alone  in  the  South  of  $181,000,000.  This  would 
nearly  pay  the  expenditure. 

It  must  be  apparent  to  everyone  that  every  dollar  expended  in  improved 
roads  is  an  investment  upon  which  a  handsome  dividend  will  accrue  to  the 
community  and  the  county.  Another  advantage  of  improved  roads  lies  in  the 
introduction  of  improved  methods  of  treating  the  soil  and  in  crop  production. 
The  most  profitable  crops  per  acre  are  those  produced  by  intensified  farming. 
Their  value,  however,  consists  in  getting  them  to  market  quickly  and  cheaply, 
and  unless  these  conditions  are  met,  there  is  no  encouragement  to  the  land- 
owner  to  engage  in  intensified  farming.  The  cost  to  the  farmer  is  estimated 
by  the  cost  of  raising  the  crop  plus  the  transportation  to  market,  and  the 
difference  between  this  and  the  selling  price  constitutes  the  profit.  The 
farmer  cannot  always  control  the  selling  price  of  his  produce,  but,  within  rea¬ 
sonable  limitations,  he  can  control  the  cost  of  production  and  the  cost  of 
transportation  over  the  public  roads.  Regarding  the  cost  of  production,  this 


40 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


may  be  accomplished  by  the  application  of  those  agricultural  methods  which 
have  been  approved.  The  State  Department  and  the  United  States  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Agriculture  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  educating  the  adult  farmer 
and  in  bringing  to  him  information  of  the  results  of  these  better  methods. 
Their  application  means  a  greater  yield  per  acre  at  a  decreased  unit  of  cost, 
and  this  progression  widens  the  margin  between  the  cost  of  production  and 
the  selling  price.  The  apathy  and  indifference  of  our  people  to  the  great 
economic  loss  arising  from  bad  roads  is  difficult  to  understand.  I  presume 
there  has  never  been  a  time  when  our  people  have  not  appreciated  the 

necessity  for  better  roads  and  deplored  the  existence  of  bad  roads.  The  diffi- 

• 

culty  has  been  in  the  indisposition  to  take  concerted  action  to  improve  them. 
The  mere  recognition  of  the  bad  condition  does  not  mend  it.  We  must  appre¬ 
ciate  the  inconvenience  and  losses  which  arise  from  such  bad  conditions,  and 
the  profit  which  would  accrue  from  repairing  the  same.  We  must  also  have 
an  intelligent  comprehension  of  the  methods  by  which  the  better  conditions 
can  be  obtained,  and  the  cost  of  the  same.  Point  out  to  me  a  community 
where  a  reasonable  proportion  of  the  citizens  have  intelligently  studied  this 
road  question,  the  wastefulness  of  the  one  and  the  profit  of  the  other,  who 
have  studied  the  basic  factors  which  enter  into  the  construction  and  the 
maintenance  of  good  roads  and  the  cost  of  the  same,  and  who  are  willing  to 
cooperate  with  their  neighbors  for  improved  conditions,  and  I  will  show  you 
a  community  which  is  actively  engaged  in  the  work  of  road  building.  A 
community,  like  an  individual,  may  get  in  a  rut  and  apparently  have  no  dis¬ 
position  to  move  out.  There  are  persons  who  day  after  day  complain  of  their 
condition  in  life,  lament  most  bitterly  their  misfortune,  who  never  make  the 
slightest  intelligent  effort  to  improve  their  condition. 

A  man  who  has  become  accustomed  to  the  conveniences  and  improvements 
which  make  for  his  well-being,  will  not  thereafter  be  content  to  live  without 
them.  The  man  who  has  lived  in  the  town  possessing  good  streets,  a  system 
of  drainage  and  sewerage,  a  healthful  and  abundant  supply  of  water,  and 
well-lighted,  cannot  be  induced  to  move  to  another  town  lacking  in  these 
facilities;  and  likewise,  a  farmer  who  has  lived  in  a  rural  community  posses¬ 
sing  good  roads,  telephone  facilities,  good  public  schools,  and  intelligent 
neighbors,  cannot  be  induced  to  move  to  another  rural  community  which  does 
not  enjoy  these  advantages.  The  soil  may  be  ever  so  fertile  and  the  climate 
ever  so  salubrious,  but  you  cannot  induce  him  to  settle  in  a  community  which 
has  not  been  touched  by  the  wand  of  progress.  If  you  will  take  the  census 
of  1910,  as  I  did,  and  look  at  the  counties  in  North  Carolina  which  have  had 
the  largest  increase  in  population  during  the  last  decade,  you  will  find  that 
they  have  been  engaged  in  road  building  and  in  the  maintenance  of  good 
public  schools,  rural  delivery,  and  telephones.  I  met  a  farmer  recently  in 
the  city  of  Washington  who  was  returning  from  a  county  in  the  State  of  Vir¬ 
ginia  which  he  had  visited  with  a  view  to  settling,  and  I  asked  his  impression. 
He  praised  the  climate,  the  soil,  and  liked  the  people,  but  stated  that  in  his 
county  in  Iowa  they  had  built  fine  roads,  and  that  it  would  require  very  strong 
attractions  to  induce  him  to  move  to  a  county  with  bad  roads  and  with  no 
disposition  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  improve  them. 

By  the  way,  this  suggests  the  subject  of  immigration.  I  am  aware  that 
there  are  some  of  our  people  who  term  every  nonresident  of  the  State  a 
foreigner,  and  who  evince  an  indifference  to  new  settlers.  They  say,  “Reserve 
North  Carolina  for  North  Carolinians,  and  our  lands  for  ourselves  and  our 


OF  GOOD  ROADS 


41 


children.”  in  my  younger  days  I  may  have  shared  to  some  extent  in  these 
picscriptive  ideas;  but  observation  and  study  have  changed  my  viewpoint.  I 
have  reached  the  conclusion  that  one  of  the  necessities  for  future  growth 
lies  in  attracting  settlers  to  our  State,  who  shall  make  their  homes  among 
us.  If  they  are  intelligent  and  patriotic,  and  willing  to  work,  I  do  not  care 
where  they  come  from.  We  need  more  industrial  workers  in  this  State.  To 
obtain  them,  we  must  treat  them  just  as  we  would  like  to  be  treated  if  we 
moved  among  strangers;  we  must  not  only  extend  the  glad-hand,  but  we  must 
give  them  a  square  deal. 

Good  reads  are  inseparably  connected  with  good  public  schools,  and,  for 
that  matter,  with  the  maintenance  of  strong  churches.  I  heard  a  gentleman 
from  Chatham  speak  of  the  difficulty  of  selecting  school  districts  in  his  county, 
owing  to  the  bad  roads.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  movement  on  the  part  of  our 
State  Board  of  Education  to  consolidate  rural  schools  and  ' make  for  better 
school  buildings,  better  teachers,  and  longer  terms,  has  met  its  most  effective 
obstacle  in  bad  country  roads.  We  shall  not  reach  our  ideals  in  public  edu¬ 
cation  until  these  schoolhouses,  of  which  we  are  building  one  each  day,  can  be 
reached  by  good,  dry  roads. 

I  sometimes  think  that  we  who  live  in  town  are  not  sufficiently  mindful  of 
those  who  live  on  the  farm.  Just  a  few  years  ago,  when  some  evil-minded 
men  attempted  to  create  friction  and  enmity  between  the  town  and  the  coun¬ 
try,  many  of  us  regarded  it  as  most  deplorable;  surely  it  was;  and  yet  we 
may  as  well  be  honest  with  ourselves  and  admit  there  was  some  foundation 
for  it.  Eighty  per  cent  of  our  population  are  dependent  upon  the  soil  for 
their  livelihood,  and  there  is  scarcely  an  urban  community  in  the  State  which 
is  not  dependent,  in  more  or  less  degree,  for  their  prosperity  upon  the  success 
of  the  farm  in  the  tributary  section.  The  urban  and  the  rural  communities 
are  interdependent,  and  there  should  not  only  exist  between  them  a  mutual 
bond  of  sympathy,  but  a  disposition  in  all  practical  ways  to  help  in  upbuilding 
the  other.  In  attending  some  of  the  farmers’  institutes  in  this  State  in  recent 
years,  I  have  been  surprised  to  note  not  only  the  absence,  but  the  absolute 
indifference,  of  the  townspeople  to  these  meetings.  There  were  no  conveni¬ 
ences  provided  and  not  the  slightest  indication  of  intelligent  interest;  and 
yet  every  merchant  would  welcome  each  of  these  farmers  into  his  store,  and 
understand  that  his  own  prosperity  depended  upon  the  prosperity  of  the 
farmer.  May  we  strive  toward  that  era  when  the  town  people  and  the  coun¬ 
tryman  shall  possess  a  homogeneous  spirit,  each  working  for  the  betterment 
of  the  other,  when  each  shall  work  only  for  the  truth  about  the  other,  and 
each  shall  realize  that  his  own  interests  are  one  and  inseparable.  During  all 
time  the  farm  has  been  the  nursery  from  which  has  come  the  new,  the  strong, 
and  the  virile  men  and  women,  who  have  filled  the  gaps  in  the  cities  and  kept 
going  the  industry  and  commerce  of  the  urban  life.  If  the  nursery  is  not 
maintained,  the  whole  body  politic  will  languish.  The  bottom  factor  in  the 
healthy  growth  and  maintenance  of  rural  life  is  the  improved  country  road. 

We  have  of  late  been  doing  things  in  North  Carolina.  We  have  progressed. 
Manufacturing,  principally  in  textile  lines,  has  shown  a  most  gratifying 
growth.  Farm  methods  have  been  improved.  Yet  we  must  remember  that 
transportation  is  the  very  lifeblood  of  commerce,  and  that  greater  production 
requires  enlarged  avenues  of  transportation,  and  unless  we  improve  the  public 
road,  the  most  important  instrumentality  of  transportation,  that  our  progress 
will  reach  its  limitation. 


42 


BENEFITS  AND  ADVANTAGES 


There  have  been  some  difficulties  in  the  past  in  this  matter  of  road  building. 
First,  there  has  been  extreme  localization.  Efforts  have  been  too  largely 
confined  to  the  rural  district  and  the  township.  I  now  believe  with  Dr.  Pratt, 
that  the  county  should  be  the  unit  of  organization,  and  that  in  some  cases 
even  this  area  might  profitably  be  enlarged.  Again,  we  have  not  appreciated 
the  importance  of  supervision.  We  have  entertained  the  pleasant  delusion 
that  anybody  could  edit  a  newspaper,  conduct  a  hotel,  operate  a  farm,  or  plan 
and  build  a  public  road.  The  error  has  been  apparent  in  the  bad  results 
obtained  in  each.  We  are  gradually  learning  that  public  road  improvement 
requires  skill  in  the  planning  and  in  the  execution.  Only  a  road  engineer  of 
approved  skill  and  experience  should  be  permitted  to  lay  out  a  public  road 
and  make  plans  for  its  construction  and  improvement,  and  no  road  should 
be  built  except  under  his  supervision.  The  county  of  Forsyth  affords  a  con¬ 
spicuous  example  of  a  community  which  has  learned  this  lesson.  It  is  among 
the  first  to  secure  the  exclusive  services  of  a  trained  road  engineer,  and  I 
congratulate  the  people  of  Forsyth  upon  their  good  fortune  in  obtaining  the 
services  of  that  skilled  engineer  and  loyal  citizen,  Mr.  W.  L.  Spoon. 

Another  difficulty  has  existed  in  our  method  of  furnishing  the  labor.  Stat¬ 
ute  labor,  or  the  plan  of  paying  the  road  tax  in  labor,  has  never  yet  resulted 
in  a  good  road,  and  never  will.  The  building  of  roads  is  a  public  function, 
and  should  be  secured  in  the  same  manner  as  other  public  benefits.  The 
revenue  should  be  secured  by  the  levying  of  taxes,  by  which  every  citizen  will 
contribute  in  accordance  with  his  means.  It  constitutes  one  of  the  public 
burdens  which  must  be  assumed  by  every  citizen.  There  has  been  a  time 
when  it  was  regarded  as  extremely  impolitic  for  a  man  in  public  office  to 
advocate  road  taxes,  and  yet  I  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  who  dis¬ 
cusses  public  questions  to  tell  the  truth  as  he  sees  it.  The  people  are  not  as 
gullible  or  as  foolish  as  some  public  men  profess  to  believe.  No  man  in  public 
life  can  hope  for  universal  approval  of  all  his  public  acts,  but  he  can  maintain 
his  own  self-respect  and  integrity  of  purpose.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I 
would  rather  have  the  confidence  of  the  people,  even  though  they  thought  I 
was  wrong  upon  a  public  question,  than  to  have  temporary  applause  when  I 
knew  I  was  wrong. 

One  other  difficulty  with  our  road  problem  lies  in  failing  to  maintain  them 
after  we  build  them.  Many  of  us  in  the  east  have  come  to  regard  Mecklen¬ 
burg  as  the  banner  county  for  good  roads;  but  it  appears  that  her  people 
built  good  roads  and  expected  them  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Good  roads, 
like  all  other  human  institutions,  do  not  “stay  put”;  nothing  is  permanent. 
Disintegration  is  the  law  of  nature,  and  the  price  of  permanent  highways  is 
eternal  vigilance. 

At  good-roads  meetings  held  recently,  many  of  the  speakers  have  referred 
to  “politics”  as  one  of  the  obstacles  in  the  movement  for  better  roads.  Why 
should  this  be  true?  Neither  the  term  nor  the  man  who  is  active  in  politics 
should  suffer  under  this  opprobrium.  The  ideal  of  every  political  party 
should  be  one  of  sympathy  and  cooperation  with  every  movement  which 
makes  for  the  material  betterment  or  the  moral  force  of  the  people.  Such 
an  ideal  is  absolutely  consistent  with  the  militant  democracy  of  a  people 
(I  am  not  using  the  term  alone  in  its  party  sense),  but  there  are  such  con¬ 
spicuous  delinquencies  at  times  which  seem  to  furnish  a  basis  for  this  criti¬ 
cism.  For  instance,  as  a  part  of  this  movement  for  better  roads,  every  intelli¬ 
gent  man  knows,  we  need  a  State  Highway  Commission,  in  order  to  afford 


OF  GOOD  HOADS 


43 


intelligent  assistance  to  and  cooperation  with  the  counties  in  the  building  of 
roads.  The  last  Legislature  was  asked  to  pass  a  law  creating  a  highway  com¬ 
mission  and  to  make  an  adequate  appropriation  for  its  maintenance;  and  yet 
that  body  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  this  demand  of  the  people.  I  have  a  great 
deal  of  respect  and  sympathy  with  the  charity  of  Dr.  Pratt,  in  the  excuses 
which  he  made  for  this  omission  of  duty,  to  the  North  Carolina  Good  Roads 
Association  in  June;  but  they  do  not  excuse.  The  excuses  which  were  made 
by  the  gentleman  from  Johnston  County,  at  this  same  meeting,  for  the  omis¬ 
sion  in  failing  to  pass  an  act  authorizing  the  people  of  that  county  to  vote 
upon  a  bond  issue,  are  also  creditable  to  his  heart,  but  they  do  not  furnish 
an  excuse.  The  criticism  of  “politics”  must  be  based  upon  this  lack  of  sym¬ 
pathy  and  helpfulness  by  public  men  and  political  parties  toward  the  several 
economic  movements  in  our  State.  What  is  the  remedy?  It  lies  in  the  people 
themselves.  The  people  have  such  officeholders  and  such  legislators  as  they 
deserve,  and  if  we  have  legislatures  which  are  unmindful  of  their  duties  to 
the  people,  it  is  the  fault  of  the  people  who  nominate  them  and  elect  them. 
There  never  was  a  man  who  held  a  public  office  who  was  not  regardful  of  the 
sentiments  of  his  constituents.  If  the  people  fix  high  the  standard  of  public 
duty  and  insist  that  those  whom  they  elevate  to  positions  of  trust  shall  live  up 
to  that  standard,  there  will  be  an  immediate  response  and  a  rejuvenation  of 
political  parties. 

We  must  educate  the  people  upon  the  subject  of  public  roads.  This  good- 
road  propaganda  must  be  maintained  and  promoted.  Less  than  twenty  years 
ago,  more  than  twenty  out  of  every  hundred  of  our  white  population  above 
ten  years  of  age  could  not  read  and  write.  We  had  neglected  our  duty  to 
the  children  of  the  State,  and  we  had  fallen  behind.  Then  came  those  two 
matchless  champions  of  the  rights  of  the  children,  Charles  D.  Mclver,  now 
gone  to  his  reward,  and  Edwin  A.  Alderman,  since  come  to  the  full  stature  of 
manhood,  who  went  out  among  the  people  to  preach  the  gospel  of  public  edu¬ 
cation.  Many  of  us  enrolled  under  that  standard,  most  conspicuous  of  whom 
was  the  great  Educational  Governor,  Charles  B.  Aycock,  and  we  have  estab¬ 
lished  among  our  citizens  such  a  standard  of  duty  to  the  children  that  we  are 
engaged  in  building  a  new  schoolhouse  day  by  day,  and  raising  the  standard 
and  compensation  of  teachers,  lengthening  the  school  term,  and  bringing  the 
children  into  the  light  of  knowledge  and  liberty. 

So  with  this  public  road  problem.  We  must  not  depend  entirely  upon 
Dr.  Pratt,  or  upon  the  officers  of  the  North  Carolina  Good  Roads  Association. 
They  cannot  assume  the  entire  burden;  we  must  find  progressive  young  men 
of  intelligence  and  loyalty  to  duty  and  send  them  out,  also,  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  good  roads. 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


JNIVERSITY  of  n.c.  at  chapel  hill 


00049322179 


